Is it really okay to use Getter Rays in a world of Otome Games? [MobuSeka/Getter Robo]

[Blackraptor]

I was on the right island. I knew that I was on the right island. It was in the place I remember it being from the game. "So where the hell are all the sentry robots that are supposed to be patrolling the island?"

The hidden floating island I was currently on was my one Hail Mary to get out of getting married off to an old hag, not to mention sparing my younger brother from a similar fate. Desperation and spite fueled me to demand things of my family that I was pretty sure I never really earned. Even so, they gave me everything they could acquire even with their meager holdings. I was definitely going to repay my parents for this gamble.

"That's not what this building is supposed to look like." I mutter to myself as I look upwards to a large, surprisingly intact looking, structure. It was a large, sleek, building that was dominated by a massive tower topped with a sphere that looked like it was made of metal. There was overgrowth from all the plant life throughout the walls I could see, but there was no real structural damage to speak of. I was expecting a dilapidated building on the verge of collapse, like the one in the game. That this place looked fine and seemed like a completely different building altogether set me on edge. It implied that I had no idea what could be inside it, if I could even get in. "Well, it's not like I can run home with my tail between my legs."

I proceeded to look for any sign of an entrance I could use to get in, eventually finding a pretty secure looking metal door with an electric control panel next to it. The display on the panel suddenly lit up and I immediately took several steps back and shouldered the rifle dad got me for this trip. I cautiously approached the display after confirming that nothing was going to attack me. To my surprise, it was flashing something on the screen. The message kept switching to a different looking language every few seconds. To my further surprise, some of the text looked like they came from languages of Earth!

Are you human? Please use the keyboard to type your response.

That is what I read when the message switched to Japanese. The prompt to type something made me look down to see an on-screen keyboard. The layout is what I remember it being from a standard computer keyboard. After some hesitation, I reached out and typed my response.

Yes

I pointed my rifle at the door as it started opening. I waited for a few more moments for anything to come out before risking a peek inside. A hallway greeted me that seemed to lead further in. I was about to complain about the darkness when the edges of the ceiling started lighting up bit by bit. Well, that was convenient. I took a breath and went inside. My nose crinkled at the quality of the air I was breathing in. I had never known what stale air was like, but I guess I would smell like this. As if reading my thoughts, I started hearing a soft humming sound. A moment later, a gentle flow of cool air touched my skin.

"This place even has air conditioning? Wow." I was definitely impressed. I saw some doors as I walked along but none of them opened for me. Even the control panels at their side remained unlit. Without any way to get inside, I continued on until I was met with a door that did have its control panel lit up.

Press to Open

Well that seemed simple enough. The door opened to reveal a much larger room, a warehouse more like. I had to force my eyes shut as the lights went on all at once. When I opened them again, I immediately backpedaled into the hallway and nearly fell on my ass. It was a skull. It was a gigantic skull that was partially crushed. Moreover, it looked like a dinosaur skull.

"What the hell is even this place?!" My cry echoed throughout the warehouse without any response. Something in the corner of my vision got my attention and I saw a door in the far end opening. It seemed that the building wanted me to go even deeper. I readied my rifle and went over to the open door, my footsteps becoming uncomfortably loud as they echoed. By the time I got to the door, the lights in the adjoining hallway were already lit. With one last glance at the dinosaur skull, I proceeded.

I eventually encountered a door to the side of the hallway that had its control panel lit up. I looked between it and the rest of the hallway I had yet to explore and deliberated my options. Hoping that the building I was in wasn't labyrinthine in design, I opened the door and was met with an…office?

It definitely looked like an office, an expensive one considering the carpeting and fine furniture within. There were books lined on one of the walls and paintings of people and places I didn't recognize on another. At the end of it was a large wooden desk with a chair behind it. The surface was bare of anything, made even stranger when I ran a finger on the surface.

"No dust." How the hell had dust not accumulated? Is someone actually here? As I asked myself those questions, the surface of the desk suddenly slid open to reveal a sphere the size of a baseball. Was this the cheat item I was looking for?

I backed away and quickly aimed my rifle at the sphere when it started moving. Finger on the trigger, I waited for it to make the next move.

Can you understand Japanese?

I blinked at the gravelly voice coming from the orb. It sounded like an old man who was really tired of everything. It spoke to me in Japanese so I responded in kind, "I can."

The sphere moved around in its container some more until I saw a lens looking back at me. I wasn't about to risk anything and continued to point my rifle at the object until it spoke again.

Is humanity intact?

The question made me lower my rifle a bit. That was a pretty complicated thing to ask. Considering the lore of the setting of this world, the humanity this thing was probably expecting was already long gone. I thought about how I should respond and eventually decided to be upfront about it.

"The humanity you remember is probably gone. There are still humans thriving in the world, but they're not the same anymore." The sphere remained silent for a few moments more than I was comfortable with. I was about to speak again but was thankfully interrupted.

Scans show that there are subtle differences from humans on record. No corruption from Invader cells detected. Further observation is necessary to determine if this evolution was achieved through natural means.

"Okay?" I said in uncertainty. The sphere suddenly floated up from its container and proceeded to exit the office.

Follow, New Human.

"Hey wait!" I called out as I ran after the sphere. After a quick look around the hallway, I followed the floating thing through the rest of the way I had not explored. As I walked, I decided to try to find some answers because this definitely wasn't in the game that I remember. "What even are you? What is this place? How long have you been here?"

I am the control system of this laboratory. This is the Final Saotome Research Lab. Active Atomic Clocks in the lab indicate that it has been seventy-two thousand years since my last activation.

And that pretty much sealed it that this is completely new. There was no such place in this island from the game, at least not one that was actually shown. "So what should I call you?" it actually paused as if considering my question.

No official designation was ever given to me. Though everyone simply referred to me as 'Control'. You may also use that moniker if you wish.

Pretty on the nose but not the weirdest name ever, "My name is Leon Fou Bartfort, nice to meet you Control."

It is also nice to meet you, Leon.

Control continued to float down the hallway with me following behind. I was at least thankful that there wasn't anything hostile in here. I was prepared to fight for my life in order to get the cheat item and claim this island, but I won't complain about this place being so accommodating. "So where are you taking me anyway?"

To the main control room. Further explanations will be provided there.

Deciding to trust Control, I was led through several more corridors and even a couple of elevators. I was still amazed at how well kept everything was. From what Control said, it hasn't been active for thousands of years. So the mystery as to why everything didn't look old and messy is still there. Eventually, I stood in front of a much larger metal door with the words Control Room 1 written above it in English. There was a beeping noise and the doors slid open. After the lights came on, I was greeted with a pretty futuristic looking control room that wouldn't be out of place in a sci-fi movie. I followed Control inside until it stopped in front of the large screen at the front of the room. I was about to ask what was supposed to happen when the screen lit up and seemed to play a recorded video.

"If you are watching this, then what we have hoped and feared has come to pass." An old scientist in the video spoke. He looked pretty ragged. Long, unkempt gray hair, a messy beard, and a suit with a lab coat that didn't look like it had been washed in a long time. "My name is Hayato Jin. If humanity was successful, then it shouldn't matter to you who I am."

"You are currently inside the last of the Saotome Getter Ray Research labs. With any luck, none of those words would mean anything to you either." And it certainly didn't. The man paused to take a swig from a flask in his hand. Was he doing this while drunk?!

"As of the recording of this video, humanity has been embroiled in conflict against one foe after another for decades. An utterly endless stream of pretty much anything you can think of with the sole intent of wiping us out." The scientist–Hayato–continued, looking even more tired as he went on.

"We were hoping that, after we have overcome all our foes, humanity will finally have peace. Instead, we find that we are partially causing the very problem we are fighting against. That after everything is said and done, humanity will eventually inflict the same death and misery to others that we have experienced in the past." Hayato proceeded to angrily throw the flask in his hands somewhere behind the camera. "I suppose that it is simply human nature to destroy. Will we be so afraid that, bereft of any more common enemies, we would turn on each other as we've always had? That looking for even more foes to crush was the only way to keep us united?"

The camera zoomed into Hayato's face, making his horrible complexion and bloodshot eyes even more prominent.

"That shouldn't be what Getter Rays are used for. With that in mind, we will soon enact a plan that will prevent the future that those three saw. This may very well end up wiping us all out, but…" he trailed off. Hey wait a second. He had just just been talking about some pretty unbelievable stuff. The implications of what he was saying was just–

"If you are here then that means that humanity has survived past this. You may also be one of the last, but I'm choosing to be optimistic for once. I just hope that humanity has evolved past the need of constant conflict and destruction by your time." I winced at his words. I had some pretty bad news if he was still around.

"Control here will lead you to our legacy. It is a ship we've named 'Nagare' after an old friend. I hope you keep the name." I immediately perked up at that. A ship? Hey now, this might just work out after all. "It is almost completely automated with almost no maintenance required. Control will fill you in on the details later. Alongside it, I leave behind what will become the final functional Getter Robo. I hope you won't mind the smaller stature compared to its siblings."

I had no idea what that was, the name tingled something at the back of my mind but I couldn't get a hold of it. Still, a free robot from an ancient civilization definitely sounds like a Lost Item.

"It is my final wish that you do not use it to destroy humans. The Getters were all created with the intent to protect humanity, even though that wish will eventually be twisted. Defend what you hold dear with it if you want, but do not make our mistakes. Don't try to turn Getter into a God or a Devil." The context had eluded me, but the weight of his words didn't. Whatever this Getter was, it was apparently strong enough to become either of those. Good news was that I had no intention of becoming a God or a Devil. That would have been way too much hassle.

"Despite everything else. I am glad that humanity lives on after us. This is Jin Hayato. Goodbye." Those were his last words before the video ended and the screen shut off. There was definitely a lot to unpack there. Seemingly picking up on that, Control spoke.

Do you wish to see the Nagare or do you want a few more moments to compose yourself?

"I'll be fine. But I do have a question." I responded as I looked around. Grabbing a nearby chair, I sat down and regarded my surroundings. "So that man, Jin, is leaving the ship at that Getter Robo thing to me. But what about this building and the island it's on. Can I have those too?"

There are no restrictions against it. May I ask why?

After all the absurdity I had just heard from a man from tens of thousands of years ago, I figured that I would see how Control would respond to my next words. "Would you believe me if I said that I was reincarnated from another Earth?"

Yes.

"Wait really?!" I asked in surprise, not expecting the immediate agreement.

The anomalies humanity has encountered before the current date have been vast. There is no reason to think that the continuation of the human soul in some form is impossible.

"And if I said that the current world we are in is based off of a video game dating sim?" I added, the words sounding even more absurd to me when spoken out loud.

You have already stated that you are from another Earth. The memories of one parallel world being transferred by para-dimensional means to someone in another reality who then uses it as inspiration to create a form of media is not impossible.

"You're taking this pretty well. You'll believe me just like that?"

Humanity has seen weirder things. Though I would like to learn more about what you are talking about if you do not currently wish to go to the Nagare.

"You know what, we can talk while we walk." I said as I stood up. We exited the control room and I started to explain everything that I knew. After keeping all of this to myself for all these years, it was just so liberating to be able to just talk about it without being looked at like an insane person. I spoke about the setting of the current world, the matriarchal society, the magic, the Armors, the monsters, the geography, as well as what I expected the plot to be. I made sure to emphasize that I had no intention of being involved with all Saint nonsense. Being called in to fight if I end up as an Independent Knight is expected, but I'd leave the big stuff to the main characters.

I hope that you have learned from the circumstances of your past life. It would be poor form if you have not taken the effort to improve yourself after experiencing the consequences of remaining sedentary.

"Hahaha! Yes! Of course!" There was a bit more alarm in my voice than I intended but Control thankfully did not comment on it. After taking one more elevator several more floors down, we ended up in front of another set of large doors. Control took a moment to get the doors open and what I saw inside made me laugh out in relief and triumph.

The thing that stood out the most immediately was the color. Red, blue, and yellow with red being the dominant one while the blue and yellow were more like highlights or accents. It was pretty huge and had cannons that indicated that it can be used as a warship as well. The sleek angular design definitely continued the futuristic motif I've seen in the rest of this place.

I present the Nagare. One of humanity's final gifts to its future. Would you like a tour, Leon?

As exciting as this was, the offer made me remember something else. "Jin said that there is also something called a Getter Robo in here. I'd like to see that first."

Of course, please follow me inside. It is currently stored in the Nagare's hangar.

Giddy from the prospect of getting everything I could have wanted from this adventure, I happily followed Control inside the massive ship. I wasn't expecting the inside of the ship to be so spacious but the hallways and elevators had a lot of clearance on all sides as if it was expected to house a lot of people. But didn't Hayato say that this thing was mostly automated?

Welcome to the hangar, Leon. I present to you Black Getter F, the third unit to have the Black Getter designation and the final Getter Robo that was assembled.

I look up at the intimidating looking machine. It definitely didn't look anything like any of the Armors from the game. From its size, it was probably at least a head taller than Armors used by the capture targets.

The Black Getters are defined by the circumstances of their creation. The previous two units were built from spare parts of other Getters, with this one continuing the tradition.

"Wait, this thing was made from spare parts?" I asked, not taking my eyes off Black Getter F. Its arms and legs were all very thick and strong looking. I saw that the knuckles were tipped with yellow spikes and the left arm had three dangerous looking blades. I couldn't see any other visible weapons due to the black scarf and cape that it was wearing.

Indeed. The original Black Getter was built from another Getter Robo as a base with assorted parts and improvements added. The second Black Getter was much the same though it took parts from several other models instead. Both units were assembled out of great need and a lack of time.

"And this one as well?" Most of the torso was gray aside from the black chest armor that also had green panels on it. There was what looked like a sealed circular opening in the middle of the robot's stomach but I couldn't be sure. I couldn't see the neck either due to the cape scarf.

Correct. This unit was originally intended to be a second Devolution unit but construction had to be stopped part way and it was cannibalized for parts for the first unit. By the time it could be worked on again, it had to be redesigned once more and refitted with parts from older Getters. At the rate it was being constructed, it would already be replaced by newer models. Professor Hayato decided to take it as a personal project instead of scrapping it and further converted it into what you see today. As the Professor stated, it is much smaller than its contemporaries.

"Right. Small. Sure." I muttered while glancing at the metal mask that seemed to hide the lower half of its face. Red lined the edge of the robot's yellow eyes and continued down to make it look like it was crying. More green panels on the top of its head and a pair of pointed black horns coming out of the side of its head at an angle completed the menacing visage.

"So much for not making it look like a Devil." I commented at the striking visual design of the whole thing. "How do I get inside? Is there an access point in the chest somewhere?"

The cockpit is located inside the unit's head as is tradition. You can access it by retracting the face mask. Please follow me.

Control led me to a set of stairs that went up the left side of the robot. It then extended a walkway that went in front of Black Getter's face. It definitely looked even more intimidating up close like this. With a beep from Control, the entire front metal face mask retracted down to reveal an opening. With one more look to the floating sphere, I hopped inside and immediately noticed something.

"Why are there so many levers?!"

 

[Blackraptor]

"So how do I pilot this thing? The controls look nothing like anything I've ever encountered before, in this life or the last." I looked around the rather cramp looking cockpit and only saw levers upon levers upon levers. It was like the controls for the forklift from hell in here! It could at least have been a steering wheel! Wait, was there ever a robot that was controlled by a steering wheel?

You cannot.

"Excuse me?" I paused just as I was about to pull on one of the levers at random.

If you attempt to pilot Black Getter F as you presently are, you will likely perish.

"Ummm…" That wasn't the response I had hoped for.

Getters are not easy machines to operate. The required skill and conditioning aside, they also use an esoteric power source. I am presently unsure how your biology will react should it be exposed to Getter Rays.

Was this thing radioactive?!

I immediately scrambled out of the cockpit and back onto the walkway, catching myself on the safety railing. "So I guess we'll take it slow then."

Unless you have a pressing, desperate need for Black Getter F's power.

"Not really. The ship and the island itself will be more than enough for what I want right now. Are those Getter Rays you are talking about dangerous?"

It usually depends on the lifeforms in question. On its own, it is not dangerous to humans unless exposed to an extreme amount over a period of time. No different from most other types of radiation.

I blinked and tilted my head to the side, "But you're talking about humanity from seventy thousand years ago."

Seventy-two thousand. And yes. We will need to perform tests later on in small doses anyway if you plan on eventually piloting Black Getter F. The Nagare itself is also powered by Getter Rays so you will be exposed to very miniscule amounts of it over time.

Speaking of my new red ship, I should really clear up anything I needed to do to keep it running. The power source sounded like a good place to start, "Hmm…will we need to perform maintenance for the power–" was as far as I got before Control suddenly floated right in front of my face.

No. Do not approach the reactor room under any circumstances.

"That's not ominous at all. Any particular reason why?" I asked while I was trying to back away from the floating sphere.

The reasons are irrelevant. No one will be going inside the reactor room. Ever.

Okay, what the hell was powering the ship we were in?! "Now you're just making me nervous." I voiced my concern.

I apologize then. There is no need for any alarm so long as the reactor room is sealed. It is fully automated and will take care of itself forever. Please never attempt to enter it.

"You're not going to tell me what is inside the reactor room, are you?" I asked Control with a sigh. The floating sphere somehow managed to look apologetic with the way it angled its lens downwards, as if it was bowing.

I apologize again. Please trust me on this one thing.

"Just promise me that whatever is in there won't become a problem at some point." I didn't exactly like it, but I couldn't really afford to be stingy. I was still on a time limit.

I promise that there is nothing inside the Nagare that will be a threat to you or those you choose to protect.

"Fine. I'm trusting you on this. You said that you can give me a tour of the place?" Control perked back up at my words and started floating up and down.

Of course. Please follow me. We will use the hangar as the starting point.

Like what I noticed earlier on the way to the hangar, the insides of the Nagare were a lot bigger than I expected. I asked Control why everything was so spacious and got a pretty interesting response.

The Nagare was created to house up to three thousand humans. As the ship is fully automated, the space and housing would nominally be used to transport civilians.

"In case there's another crisis?"

Correct. Though I suspect that Professor Jin would have been more than happy if the ship would never need to be used for that purpose.

I was led through the rest of the ship. The armory and food storage areas were empty of course, something to think about later on. The residential area was pretty big as well. Plenty of space for each room, reflecting what Control was talking about earlier. We avoided the reactor and engine rooms, eventually ending up inside the Nagare's bridge.

If you wish to launch the Nagare, it will take an hour to prepare. I will be accompanying you, so do not worry about running the ship.

"Is it really okay for you to just leave the lab? Aren't you the control system for it?" Then again, I wasn't really sure how much an empty research lab would need an AI.

My entirety is not simply stored within this probe unit. My primary core is located deep within the lab. This probe is merely an extension of it. I am also within the Nagare itself as well as Black Getter F.

"Does that mean we need to keep you within a certain distance from the lab? What's the max range that you can function at?" I immediately followed up. Last thing I needed was needing Control but ending up out of range.

Please be at ease. So long as we remain within the planet's sphere, I will still be able to function as normal.

So that means that the signal range of the lab covers the whole planet?! "How?!"

Don't worry about it.

"Another thing you can't talk about?" I asked with a roll of my eyes.

More like it wouldn't really matter if you knew how it works or not.

I stared at the sphere for a few more moments as if it would actually do anything. Dammit! I even blinked first! Wait, why was I even trying to have a staring contest with an AI?

"Actually, there is one more thing." I started, deciding to change the subject after remembering another reason why I was out here in the first place. "You wouldn't happen to have piles and piles of treasure conveniently located somewhere on this island would you? I kind of need some. Actually, scratch that. I need as much as you can give."

If by treasure, you mean precious metals and gems, we do have stockpiles of such within warehouses within the island.

"I mean, that's fantastic. But why?" My confusion did not diminish the big smile on my face.

Most are there for raw materials. Gold and Platinum for example are primary components for semiconductors. Others are stored as barter material just in case.

I reached out and started gently patting the top of the sphere, "Have I told you how much I love you, Control?"

This is the first time, but thank you all the same. I assume you want a portion loaded into the Nagare?

"That would be great. I need a lot to bring back to show that my expedition has been a success." I explained, reminding Control about my original purpose.

Understood. I'll have drones transport a sufficiently impressive amount.

Looks like things are finally looking up for me!

Control was the one coordinating the transfer of the treasure I was going to bring back, so I didn't really have anything to do. I decided to spend my time waiting productively by slowly spinning around in the Nagare's Captain Chair.

Truly, this is the life.

Leon, I would like to discuss something with you.

I turned to Control, who had docked into one of the control consoles in the bridge.

"Sure thing. What do you need?" I stood from the comfy chair and walked up to where Control was.

With the claiming of this island and the acquisition of the Nagare, Black Getter F, and a large amount of material wealth. We can conclude that you have accomplished all of your objectives.

"We still need to get back home in time, but you're more or less correct. Once I make it official with the Adventurer's Guild and give them their cut, what's left should be enough to get me out of the bit of trouble I'm in." When I talked about my dilemma with Control, as I explained the kind of setting we were in, he also cautioned me from keeping my assets liquid.

Raw cash can be taken away through countless means, so I needed to inject those funds into tangible projects as soon as possible. That gave me the idea of helping my parents restore our family lands and renovate all the infrastructure I could afford. I also floated the idea of cultivating the lands of the island we were on, but Control was less supportive of it considering the research lab was still on here. We agreed to table the topic for now.

Very good. I wanted to know what you plan on using Nagare and Black Getter F for moving forward. Do you plan on doing more expeditions such as this one?

I blinked at the suggestion.

"I never really thought about it. I've just been worrying about my immediate future." I admitted as I sat down on the chair in front of Control's station.

I see. I would suggest you think about it once you have the chance.

"How come? I mainly just want to use the money to get out of a horrible marriage arrangement. After that, I'd probably just continue working under my father once the renovations are done." I stated. I had effectively already won at this point. What else was there?

And afterwards?

"I don't understand." I really didn't. Control remained silent and just stared at me with the probe's single lense.

You have uncovered the final gift from the previous iteration of humanity. The legacy of Getter. The last Getter Robo that you can eventually learn to properly pilot. You quite literally have the means to shake the foundations of this World at your fingertips. Do you truly not want to do anything with it?

"I mean, that's better than me ending up abusing it right?" I reasoned out.

So you would rather let all that power languish like it has for tens of thousands of years?

I think I'm starting to see where this was going. "Please don't tell me you're trying to Spider-Man me."

I am unfamiliar with whatever that is.

"With great power comes great responsibility?" Control didn't know Spider-Man? Weird.

An interesting concept, if a bit self-destructive if interpreted incorrectly. But no, that is not what I meant. You've spoken to me of your previous life as well as your current circumstances. I would like to ask: How do you see yourself as an individual?

"Me? I'm just a lowly background mob." I said without any hesitation. Couldn't really go wrong with the truth.

And you truly believe this?

"I mean, I was born as a mob character by definition. I'm not one of the main or even supporting characters of this world's setting." I elaborated. I thought it was pretty obvious. I wasn't one of the capture targets or even related to anyone important.

I think I'm starting to understand now. This talk has been very insightful. Thank you, Leon.

"No problem?" I wasn't sure what Control got from this, but I won't complain.

Eventually, everything was loaded up and secured in the Nagare's storage bays. The time spent doing that also let the ship completely power up without issue. I was sitting back in the Captain's chair and looked at Control. "Okay, can you prepare for launch? I want to get home sooner rather than later."

Of course. We can launch right away. Please use the Captain's Interface to set our destination.

Doing as suggested, I set our waypoints for the Adventurer's Guild headquarters and my home. "Done and done."

Excellent.

"Hey Control. You said that you're also inside Black Getter, right?" I asked when I remembered something the AI said before.

That is correct. I am within the lab, the Nagare, Black Getter F, and this Probe unit simultaneously.

"Does that mean that you can control Black Getter?" Please say yes. Please say yes.

To a simple degree, yes. Though my capacity to do so is restricted to basic movement. Why?

"I want to make a memorable entrance!"

…

Balcus and Luce Bartfort ran out of their mansion after their son Colin. The young boy had suddenly barged in on a heated discussion between his parents and the matriarch of the family, Zola Bartfort. The old woman demanded that Leon be disowned for not returning from his expedition and to hand over Colin as a replacement marriage candidate.

The boy in question was completely oblivious to the whole thing and excitedly yelled about a giant red ship approaching their manor before running back out. Fearing a sky pirate raid or worse, his parents quickly ran after him.

"Look! Look! It looks amazing!" Colin yelled out as he jumped up and down. He was quickly picked up by his mother and she moved them both behind Balcus. The Bartfort Lord stood protectively in front of his wife and son but his blood ran cold when a giant black shape shot out of the red ship and headed straight for them.

It was an Armor. They were all doomed.

Even though the black Armor landed a distance away from the manor, the ground still shook from the impact. Standing to its full height, Balcus could tell that it was more dangerous than any Armor he had ever seen. It was definitely larger than even the models used by Knights. The baleful yellow eyes of the Armor looked even more intimidating because of the red pupils that moved to gaze down upon them.

Balcus could hear Zola screaming something from within the manor but he didn't really care. He had to find a way to distract the monster Armor and give his wife and son a chance to run aw–

"Mother! Father! Colin! Rejoice!" Balcus' thoughts froze when a voice he had not heard for months came out of the black Armor.

"Leon fou Bartfort has returned! TRIUMPHANT!" the Armor crossed its arms as Leon's family watched in complete shock. The only sound that could be heard was Leon's laughter.

 

[Blackraptor]

"Leon! Get down from that thing and greet your family properly!" My mother yelled up at me as she tried to keep Colin from climbing up Black Getter's foot.

"Sorry mom, I'd rather keep my position of power until we resolve my marriage status." That and I didn't actually know how to make this thing move yet. "Speaking of, is that Zola I spy peeking out from the front door?"

My provocation seemed to trigger the old bat as she started stomping towards us. "Leon fou Bartfort! Dismount and surrender that Armor to me at once!" Looks like her pride won against her good sense considering her demand.

"I'll have to decline. I don't really feel like giving away my property." I definitely was getting a real kick from seeing just how mad Zola looked.

"Stupid child! Your father is under contract with me! As his child, I own everything you have!" I just smirked at her words. If I hadn't made preparations for this encounter, thanks to both Control and the Adventurer's Guild, then I might have gotten worried.

"I apologize then. I'm already a legal adult and a registered Adventurer." I countered with faux concern. "I even made sure to have my new assets officially recognized by the Guild. I have all the paperwork and everything."

Our Kingdom, Holfort, had a very stringent rule about Adventurers being able to keep what they find. The guild takes around twenty to thirty percent of the profits, but that's just the usual bureaucracy.

"If you are that concerned about it, I'm planning on investing most of my treasure back into the Bartfort lands as infrastructure. A better harbor would help a lot in the long term, for example. This also means that I am no longer beholden to marrying anyone for financial security." Even though she couldn't see me, I was sure that my tone conveyed the sheer amount of smugness I was feeling at that moment. Zola was red with anger, but I wasn't about to give that hag even a pinch of my treasure.

I suggest against antagonizing this woman any further. She may not be able to seize your assets, but she may still find a different way to avenge this humiliation.

Control's voice cautioned me from inside the cockpit. I mean, fair, but I deserve some catharsis for what she threatened me with.

"If there are no other issues, I'd like to talk to my parents about some things." I didn't intend to ever apologize, but I could at least drop the subject. Zola decided to back off and stalked back into the manor.

I will be lowering Black Getter F to a kneeling position shortly. Please prepare for disembarkment.

"Thanks a lot for doing this Control." I wouldn't have been able to look this impressive without the AI's help.

You are welcome. This has also been a successful initial test as well.

"Test?" What test?

On whether or not your body would react poorly towards exposure to Getter Rays. I am glad to report that there are no negative effects to the minimum amount needed to operate a Getter Robo.

"That's great!" I squeaked out. I completely forgot about that in my excitement to show Zola up! Oh god! I could have gotten cancer or something if I was unlucky!

I barely even registered Black Getter's movement because of my panic. I only came back to my senses when the displays shut off and the cockpit opened up to show the Getter's massive hand waiting for me to get out. With another word of thanks to Control, I climbed out and was gently lowered to the ground.

"Leoooon!" Colin yelled out right as he jumped into my arms. "You have an Armor! That's amazing!"

My younger brother's joy was infectious enough that I started laughing. Well, up until I felt my father smack me on the upside of the head.

"What were you thinking, not even checking in on us even once?! You damned fool!" Dad scolded me even as he enveloped both me and Colin in a hug.

"My baby boy!" And there was mom. As uncomfortable as this was, I didn't have the heart to shake them off me.

…

A few weeks had passed since my triumphant return. The treasure I brought back with me ended up being valued more than they normally would because of the high quality. That got us even more money to work with after dad got me connected with some buyers. Afterwards, we both agreed that renovating the harbor and roads was to be the first priority as they would make subsequent renovations easier.

Once word of large scale improvements in our lands got around, merchants started showing up in order to take advantage of the windfall and establish themselves in an up and coming market. Control said that any realistic financial gains would not be felt for at least another year, but it was a good start.

Speaking of Control, we had come to the conclusion that keeping people off my new floating island was the best course of action for now. It turned out that the research lab was not just the structure I encountered and some underground facilities. Instead, nearly everything beneath the surface of the island was part of the lab. I mean, the island wasn't big to begin with anyway, but it was still impressive to consider.

So instead, we agreed to slowly start taking out the stockpiles of materials stored in the warehouses and passing them off as mining expedition gains. Of course, we needed to keep exports small to both make it believable and to make the stockpiles last for as long as possible. Control assured me that it would provide a steady flow of income for a few years that I could put back into other investments if I wanted to. By the time we ran out, if we even got that far, the other sources of income I've developed would have started paying off.

Man, having an AI as my financial advisor was super convenient!

Still, even though I wasn't going to use the island for much, it would still be enough to eventually let me coast through life as a Baronet and Vassal of my father after I graduate from the Academy. As much as I wished that I didn't have to attend the Academy because of all the horrible people there, I still needed to 'socialize' with my peers.

We also took this chance to get started in training me to pilot Black Getter. I would have liked to say that I suddenly discovered my hitherto unknown ability to become an ace pilot, but of course such a thing was impossible for a mob like me. I actually had to do things the hard way, which is what I was doing.

-Baby Mode-

Those were the words that were plastered on the upper part of the display inside Black Getter's cockpit. I reached out and pushed a lever forward and was greeted with an error noise and the whole inside of the cockpit flashing red a couple of times.

As Control explained to me, attempting to pilot Black Getter at full capacity at my skill level would end up with the robot on the ground several miles away and me dead from the physical trauma. Professor Jin anticipated that whoever would inherit the Getter Robo might not be up to the standard they would want as a pilot, so they installed several levels of control complexity access to ease any new pilot into the process.

The lowest setting, Baby Mode, would prevent any action that would cause the Getter to fall over. Instead of taking the command, it would just show as an error like what happened just now. It was really embarrassing, but it wasn't like anyone else was watching.

"I still don't understand why there are so many levers when you said that controlling a Getter is more about focus and intent." I complained as the cockpit lighting went back to normal.

That has more to do with Professor Jin's sense of nostalgia as older Getter models featured this style of controls.

"But I could control this even without touching the levers, right?" I asked, tapping one of the levers with a foot.

Theoretically, but I would suggest against attempting to do so. The levers may be superfluous, but they act as a focus for the pilot. Humans do not normally learn to manipulate machinery using their mind, they do so with their hands and feet. Having something to physically manipulate makes the process feel more natural.

"Sure. That makes sense, I guess."

Pushing the right lever is equated to moving forward. Pulling the left lever is equated to equipping a weapon. Pushing another lever activates flight. Pulling another activates a different weapon. On and on until it comes naturally, to the point that you no longer notice it.

I look around at the array of levers. "So what am I doing wrong?"

You don't believe that the levers do anything, so they don't.

I blinked, opened my mouth, then closed my mouth.

Hmmm…

I would suggest trying it. There aren't any real consequences to failing.

That was a fair point. Right, intent. Believe that it will work. I looked around and settled on a lever that seemed like it would be the most comfortable to use for movement. I reached out and pushed it forward.

I smiled as Black Getter started to walk forward.

Without saying a word, I eased up on the lever and the giant robot slowed to a stop.

Well what do you know?

Excellent. Well done, Leon.

Unfortunately, the breakthrough didn't make me an expert overnight. It got me out of Baby Mode at least.

…

As part of my overall plan for the future, I had tried to convince my parents that I could be independent. At first, they didn't believe that I was responsible enough to be left on my own. I countered that I had an Armor, a ship, and my own floating island.

That made them even more skeptical. Rude.

It was then that their hands were forced when a letter from the Capital arrived.

"Excuse me?" I asked dad after he explained the contents of the letter. I was summoned back home and was currently in his office.

"In recognition for discovering a new floating island, uncovering new lost items, and acquiring a large amount of treasure from clearing an unknown dungeon, you have provisionally been granted the title of Baron. This is under the condition of eventually graduating from the Academy as a Knight." Dad summarized the contents of the letter before handing it to me. I scanned the piece of paper over and over again as if I could change its contents through force of will.

I was unsuccessful.

"Wait! If I do that, I'll be your peer instead of a Vassal!" Dad merely rubbed his temple at my alarm.

"I am aware how the nobility is structured, son."

"Can I decline?" Based on the look my dad gave me, it wasn't an option.

"Your achievements are too impressive to ignore. That the Royal Palace itself praised you is basically an order to attend the Academy as an equivalent to a fully recognized noble heir." He explained and I could do nothing but slump in my seat, my plans crumbling right before my eyes.

"But I was just planning on attending under General Studies, like Nicks." My whining just made dad sigh in exasperation. Clearly wanting to be like my older brother wasn't going to fly.

"Then you shouldn't have shown back up with all the stuff you brought back with you." How dare my father justifiably point out the consequences of my choices!

The curriculum in the Academy is divided into two main tracks based on the students' social standing.

Those of lower noble status, like the sons of Knights or Baronets, or even sons of houses who would not end up eventually inheriting anything, end up in General Studies.

Sons of higher standing houses end up in Higher Studies. Of course, due to the matriarchal setting, daughters of noble houses all go straight to Higher Studies regardless of the standing of their house.

There are exceptions, of course, but that's how it usually goes. Unfortunately, I was now one of those exceptions.

It gets even worse.

The Academy is generally also where children of noble houses find their future spouses, with sons being very strongly advised to find a suitable bride by the time they graduate.

"You have to undergo education in Higher Studies in order to learn how to manage your future Barony. It's not just about learning to take care of your lands either. It will also be a chance to establish yourself with your future peers and superiors." He continued and I felt more and more mentally tired as he went on. I suddenly felt my spine tingle when he sent me a very meaningful look. "This also means that the girl you decide to court while you are there must be from a prominent family befitting your new status."

Nooooooooo!

"But girls from Baronies and up are horrible harpies! You can't possibly think that they'd actually take someone like me seriously?!" I bemoaned. I had originally planned on just finding a nice simple girl from a family of lower status to avoid all that nonsense. Someone like my mother, who was mellow and supportive.

"Hey now. Zola is not the norm when it comes to women in the nobility. I'm sure there will be nice girls at the Academy!" Dad tried to assure me, but I wasn't buying it.

"At least look me in the eye when you say that, dad." Mainly because of that.

He ignored my words and cleared his throat. "You can also take this as an opportunity. The crown prince and several other prominent heirs will be attending in the same year as you. This is your chance to get into their good graces."

Right, the five possible love interests of the main heroine. Based on my own experience from going through the game, I already knew how well trying to suck up to them would turn out.

"Stop making such a disgusted face. Your enrollment is already set on stone, so you might as well make the most of it." Just because that was true didn't mean I had to like it.

I then blinked when he stood up and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I know you think this will be impossible, but you've already done the impossible right before my very eyes. Despite my and your mother's misgivings, I know that you will find a way to overcome the challenges in the Academy as well."

Aw come on! I was trying to be mad at you, dad!

…

"So what exactly can this thing do?" I asked while looking at the unassuming black and green colored bracelet around my right wrist. I was back on my island, making preparations for my departure for the Academy. Ugh! Even thinking about it is making me upset.

Its primary purpose is as a communication device and as a health monitor.

I was currently with the floating probe in one of the many, many, lab areas deep underground where I was outfitted with my new accessory.

It will allow us to contact each other as well as inform me if you are in any critical danger.

That's actually super useful! "So how do I use it to talk to you? I don't see any buttons."

Like with controlling Black Getter F, you will simply need to want to speak to me. This can also act as off-field practice for you on using intent to control a system.

I raised my arm up and spoke into the bracelet. "Hello? Hello? Can you read me? Over." Wow, this felt like a spy gadget or something.

Negative. We will have sufficient time to practice before you start at the Academy.

"Ugh! Don't remind me."

If possible, I would like to know of your experiences in the Academy as they happen. If you need advice, as well as someone to vent to or bounce ideas off of, I would be happy to do so.

I raised my eyebrow at that. "You sure? I didn't think that you'd be interested in all the nonsense that will happen there."

The opportunity to find out more about the society that the new humanity has built would be worthwhile. Not everything important is exciting. In fact, most important things are very boring. Seeing how the future leaders of your country develop and grow will also be interesting.

I thought about it for a moment before making a suggestion. "Do you want to just come along then? I'm sure you have some super technology that will make you invisible or something."

I had considered it, but decided to give you space and privacy in this matter.

"I appreciate the gesture, but I would be fine if you want to come along. God knows that you'd be better conversation than anyone else I'll meet there." I shuddered at all the inane things that I'd need to talk about during the tea party events as part of trying to find a bride.

Then I will take you up on the offer. A special stealth drone will be assembled shortly for this purpose. You should keep the communications bracelet anyway as its functions will still be valuable in emergencies.

I smiled at Control. Having someone I know who is on my side for sure will definitely make the whole thing more bearable. "Sure, but don't expect too much. I plan on completely staying under the radar during my entire stay at the Academy."

An odd silence settled between the two of us, almost like a sense of comfortable companionship and–

You realize that there is a narrative concept known as 'jinxing yourself', yes?

SHUT UP!

 

[Blackraptor]

I was reminded of the video game origins of the world I was reincarnated to when I started educating Control about Holfort's capital. As per standard with most fantasy settings, the capital itself was situated right in the middle of the country. For some ungodly reason, there was an ancient dungeon there that endlessly spawned monsters, which in turn got farmed for resources in a perpetuating cycle of violence and profit. Control asked me how irrigation was supposed to work for floating islands as several of them seemed to have endlessly flowing waterfalls that dumped out water, I had no answers to give.

Regardless, I managed to get enrolled without much issue. I accompanied my older brother Nicks and my older sister Jenna as they were going back to continue their education for the new term. My brother was a third-year in General Studies while my sister was a second-year in Higher Studies. Sadly, Jenna had the same twisted attitude that most girls her age did in this setting. I lamented that such a girl came from our mom.

The campus itself was way more spacious than I ever expected, with several buildings dotted throughout. My stomach dropped when I was informed that Higher Studies dorms were separate from General Studies dorms. The apologetic look that Nicks gave me as we split up part way did not make me feel better about the situation at all.

Three years. I had to deal with this place and the people inside for three years. Not to mention that I had to find a bride by the end of it. Argh!

Fascinating. The structure and furnishings don't seem that different from what humanity used to use.

An invisible Control spoke out after I let the new Stealth Drone body out of my bag. The sound from the AI's voice came from different parts of my new dorm room as it spoke. "I don't know what to tell you. A room is a room. A bed is a bed."

Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with a roommate either.

True. Though I had hoped for more noteworthy differences considering the liberal applications of magic everywhere else.

Unfortunately, I didn't have to wait long for my first dose of socializing with my peers. I was soon dragged out of my room by an upperclassman and was brought to a bar off campus along with the other first years. Control followed along and was more than happy to simply observe the proceedings in silence. The speech by one of the upperclassmen pretty much summarized the purpose of this get together: start building your networks and power bases but don't be assholes to each other.

I got some attention by virtue of being an Adventurer at my age, normally people wait to graduate before trying that career out. Apparently my accomplishments were more impressive than I expected as my reputation and feats seemed to have been making rounds among the nobility. My dad did warn me about that.

I did gain a couple of new friends out of the whole thing though. Daniel Fou Durland and Raymond Fou Arkin filled out the athletic and nerdy school friend stereotype respectively. We bonded over our mutual status as mobs in the eyes of nobility and our future struggles in trying to find a girl who wasn't horrible.

"Didn't you guys hear about the Special Scholarship Student that was enrolled this year too?" My ears perked up at the words of one of our upperclassmen. A commoner nobody from nowhere important. A girl with no accomplishments, no connections, and no support at all.

This was a girl who was the descendant of a special ancient bloodline and would help shape the future of this country. The girl who was going to be the target of the affections of the crown prince as well as four other sons of great houses. The main protagonist, Olivia.

"There has to be a reason why she was enrolled in Higher Studies despite her status. If you guys learn anything, let me know." Daniel and Raymond nodded but I just hummed in faux agreement.

Like hell I was going anywhere near that girl!

A few days later, the official entrance ceremony for new students was held. Of course, among them was the crown prince himself, Julius Rapha Holfort. Definitely fit the bill for a Prince Charming type with his shiny blue hair, handsome looks, and tall stature. Naturally, most of the girls in the auditorium focused in on him.

"Something wrong, Leon?" Raymond asked when I started looking around.

"I'm not sure…" I muttered. I felt my spine tingle for just a second and tried to find the source but all I could see were just more students.

"Did you already find a prospect?" Daniel asked with a smirk as he also tried to look around. No way, definitely not what he was thinking. If I'm lucky, it was just a fluke and I'd never have to deal with whatever that was again.

…

Several weeks into my enrollment at the Academy and I've finally gotten into the swing of things. Being a lowly mob, nothing really important happened to me. I mainly just did school stuff and hung out with Daniel and Raymond. This far into the game's timeline though, the main protagonist should have already met and started socializing with all her love interests. She'll probably pick the prince but the other four were probably viable too. A clash between her and her main antagonist may have already happened as well. I wasn't sure since I didn't really pay attention to the school gossip. I already did my time with this game before I was reborn, I wasn't going to let myself get dragged back in.

"So, who will you guys invite for your Tea Party?" Daniel asked, eliciting groans from Raymond and myself. There was a long holiday at the start of the following month and the men of the Higher Studies track were expected to invite a girl to an elaborate Tea Party in order to grow closer and check compatibility for possible marriage. In the game, it was just an excuse to have one-on-one events between the protagonist and the love interests. Here? It affected everyone else. As sons of lower ranked nobility, none of us really had any clout to be able to attract anyone of note. Even my status as Adventurer didn't matter. The girls looked at our families, not ourselves.

It got even worse as the Tea Parties needed to be financed by the students out-of-pocket individually. Since they weren't "Official" school events, then the school was not obligated to foot the bill. You couldn't even opt out of hosting Tea Parties as word would spread that you didn't even make the effort, then you really wouldn't get any attention from any of the girls no matter what you tried in the future.

"I don't have a lot of allowance, so I'll need to get creative on how to make things look good." Raymond explained. "I don't even care who attends, I just hope that someone shows up."

"Don't remind me. I have to go even further beyond for my Tea Party." I despaired at my friends. Because of my accomplishments and provisional title, the students already saw me as someone who had established affluence. I continue to suffer from my own success. Someone let slip the sheer amounts of wealth I had brought back to my family from my expedition. Looks like Control was right on the money when they said that Zola would find some other way to get me back for humiliating her.

Our discussion paused as Prince Julius walked past, followed by a gaggle of girls hoping to get his attention. Also accompanying him was one of the other love interests, the Prince's Best Friend, Jilk Fia Marmoria. His long green hair and matching gentle eyes gave him an impression of someone you can rely on in confidence.

"We can also thank those guys for upping the expectations when it comes to Tea Parties in general." I grumbled. How was I supposed to compete with guys who were literally designed to be appealing to teenage girls?!

My self loathing was brought to a halt when a certain girl suddenly walked right up to the prince, followed by her own entourage. Golden blonde hair that was tied in a bun, reminiscent of a famous character from my old life, piercing red eyes that showed strength, beautiful white skin with no flaws. Angelica Rapha Redgrave, the main antagonist of the game and the prince's betrothed. She and the prince started arguing about his Tea Party arrangements for a bit but were interrupted by a new arrival.

Short stature, long blonde hair, blue eyes, a dainty looking girl when compared to someone like Angelica. Her name was Marie Fou Lafan, a Viscount's daughter. She approached and got the prince's attention. "Your highness."

The contrast between his irritation towards Angelica and his relief towards Marie was obvious to anyone. It was obvious that the Redgrave daughter did not appreciate the interruption.

"Marie! I was looking for you." Prince Julius greeted the petite girl.

Oh man, Angelica really didn't like that.

Literally no one dared to move as the standoff continued. Even the three of us sitting on an out of the way bench were too intimidated to leave.

"I can't believe how close Marie got to the prince considering she slapped him one time." What? I turned to look at Raymond, who just spoke. "I know right? And the prince just laughed it off too."

"Well, I heard that she ate steak with some prominent nobleman and gobbled it up like a wild animal." Daniel added and got a weird look from Raymond.

A slap and a steak. That sounded familiar.

"The boys at school will start holding tea parties next month. I don't really like doing anything too elaborate so I plan on simply inviting a select few. I was hoping that you would grace me with your presence there as well." Prince Julius continued his conversation with Marie, completely ignoring Angelica in the process.

"Your highness, I must protest." Angelica pushed herself back into the conversation. "Someone of your standing should have a Tea Party befitting it."

"Enough! You may be my betrothed, but I make my own decisions here." The prince cut her off and Angelica apologized with a short bow.

Wait a minute! This was one of the main scenes from the game! Why was this happening without the main protagonist?!

"You guys see the Special Scholarship Student around?" Daniel and Raymond looked at each other when I asked.

"This isn't the time, man. Why would she even be here?" Daniel answered. Because she was supposed to be here! This was kind of an important moment from the Prince Julius Route!

Angelica backed off and left shortly afterwards and Marie was able to properly accept the prince's invitation. An invitation that was supposed to have gone to the main protagonist.

I shook my head. It was fine. If Marie snags Julius, that still leaves four other love interests that Olivia could get with. I put it out of my mind. I wasn't involved and I didn't want to get involved.

…

One of the stranger yet pleasant surprises I had during school was that I sort of, kind of, ended up getting a hobby. Absolutely ironically, it was making and serving tea. I thought it was extremely weird but Control was fully supportive of it and explained why.

Developing an interest that is completely divorced from the work you normally do is very important to winding down. Associating the activity with feelings of relaxation and comfort benefits your mental and emotional health.

So it was then that I began my path towards the mastery of tea.

The upside to my new hobby was that I gained a lot more confidence in hosting my own Tea Party. I secured a room in school and sent out an invitation to a Baron's second daughter, which should be good enough standing for the bride requirement. I was finishing up some last minute preparations, with Invisi-Control floating somewhere else in the room, when said girl walked into the room…followed by two other girls.

"Oh, welcome miss, umm..." I trailed off as I glanced between her and the other girls, who started snickering.

"They're my friends." the girl I invited said easily enough as she sat herself down on the table. Her friends quickly got their own chairs and positioned themselves so that I didn't have any room to sit. "We were invited to another tea party but had time to kill, so we'll be staying here for a bit."

Without any more preamble, the three girls started eating up the snacks I had laid out.

Doing my best to stay calm, I walked up and politely offered some tea. They barely acknowledged me and went back to chatting amongst themselves even as I poured them drinks. In the course of half an hour, I tried to insert myself into their conversation between refills but they just completely ignored me. They then just up and left without another word, leaving me with nothing.

"Why those stupid little–" my rising anger and rant was interrupted when I heard shouting just outside the room I was using.

"I don't care if you were invited, a commoner doesn't deserve to attend a tea party hosted by the heir of the Field Earldom!" with those words, several footsteps started to walk away. I made my way out of the room just to confirm if the commoner they were talking about was the same one I was expecting.

Flaxen blonde hair styled into a simple mid-length bob cut, blue eyes with a touch of green, and a gentle looking face. A complete girl-next-door look for an unassuming heroine. Cute, but definitely not in the same league as Angelica. Yep. I was definitely looking at the main protagonist, Olivia.

"You okay?" I called out as Olivia stared at the torn up invitation to another tea party on the floor. She looked up at me and her eyes widened in surprise.

"It's you…" she whispered, forgetting about the torn invitation and walking up to me. I suddenly felt my heartbeat quicken when she reached out and cupped my face. "...that pretty green light."

Excuse me?

 

[Blackraptor]

It's never really going to come up since it's the last Getter so there isn't really any need to compare sizes with its older relatives. But for scaling purposes, Armors in MobuSeka have some pretty wonky sizes. One book says that they are around 3 meters tall (like the Kobu from Sakura Wars) then volume 5 turns around and says that Leon jumped down 5 - 6 meters from the Arroganz cockpit. Making them maybe a bit bigger even though "modern" armors are definitely smaller than Arroganz.

Just for piece of mind, Black F is 18 meters (under half Getter-1s 38). Big enough for Leon to climb inside the head but make it cramped. Unfortunately, this means that Open Get will probably kill someone inside of it so none of that.

 

[Blackraptor]

I glanced at Olivia as she bowed at me while I got her a cup of tea. "I apologize again for my impertinence. I shouldn't have just done that when we weren't even introduced. I am Olivia, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Leon. Leon Fou Bartfort. And I wasn't offended, so it's fine. Really." I assured her, hoping some tea would calm the girl down. "I would like an explanation for what you said though."

The future Saint took the cup in her hands and closed her eyes. "I can't really find the words to explain it. Ever since I arrived at the Academy, I kept seeing–feeling–a faint gentle green light coming from somewhere. The first time I did was back at the Entrance Ceremony."

"It didn't happen all the time so I just thought that it was just nerves from being around so many Nobles." She continued before opening her eyes and looking at me. "But I was trying to find where the Tea Party I was invited to was located when I sensed the same faint green light coming from this room and I got curious."

"That's when you ran into those girls." I completed the events that led to our meeting. She nodded and I sat down across the table from her. "Am I still glowing now?"

Olivia took a sip of the tea and smiled. "I can't really say that it is a glow. It's more like faint traces clinging to you and coming from within? Sorry, I'm not really explaining it well."

"No, it's fine." I answered distractedly. Could it be because of those Getter Rays Control was talking about? "It's not distracting or distressing you though, is it?"

"Oh not at all." I sighed in relief as she said that. Last thing I wanted was somehow giving the main protagonist radiation sickness or something. "In fact, I've felt a great deal of comfort ever since we started talking."

Her face suddenly went red and she quickly looked away from me. "I mean, the light! The light is comforting! I didn't mean to imply anything else!"

Ah, of course. The only way a mob like me would ever get the attention of someone like the future Saint would be because some weird beams were literally coming out of my body.

"I understand. Please be at ease." I used every bit of the etiquette lessons taught to me up to this point to keep my face straight. "Actually, I wanted to ask about that other Tea Party you were supposed to go to."

"Oh! I was invited by the heir of the Field family. He said that he was interested in talking to the Special Scholarship Student, but it seems like the other nobles didn't share his opinion." Olivia's smile became strained as she finished her story.

Brad Fou Field. Son of an Earl and one of the love interests. Pretty foppish playboy with long purple hair and matching eyes. He was the weakest among the five physically but was pretty good with a lance. His greatest asset though was his impressive talent at magic.

"Well, that's fine. The girl I invited pretty much blew me off anyway." I said, pushing a platter of sweets towards Olivia. "Might not be what either of us expected, but there's no reason not to enjoy the tea and company anyway."

"Are you sure? This tea and these snacks look quite expensive." She pointed out but I waved off her concern and poured myself a cup to drink. The girl that all this was intended for didn't deserve it, so might as well use it for someone who would actually appreciate the effort I put in.

"Still, I don't even know why I'm even here at the Academy." Olivia continued as she nibbled on a cookie. Man, she really liked to put herself down. "I can barely keep up with everyone else in studies and I don't really have any friends either."

Wait a minute.

"None at all? None of the other male students approached you? I mean, aside from Brad Fou Field." I asked and was puzzled when she shook her head. That didn't make any sense. Olivia struggled in the early game because of her bad stats, but that was to incentivize the player to pick a love interest so their respective specializations would boost her stats depending on who she went with. Even without any early flags with any of the love interests, Julius should have been looking out for her as part of the Common Route that let her be introduced to the other guys she could pick from.

I wasn't paying attention at all because we didn't share any classes and because I didn't want to be part of the plot of the game.

"I apologize for burdening you with my problems even though you went out of your way to provide me with hospitality." The girl said miserably and made to stand. "Thank you for your time, Leon."

Honestly, did this poor girl suck up all the humility from her peers?

"You deserve to be here." The confidence in my statement made her pause right as she was about to leave the table. "We've never had a Special Scholarship Student, especially a commoner. Not to mention that your enrollment here was facilitated by the Royal Palace. That probably made everyone worry as to why. But the fact is that you're here because someone who is probably more important than anyone else in the Academy wanted you here. That counts for a lot."

Olivia looked at me with hopeful eyes that I really wanted to look away from because of how pure they were. "But what good is that if everyone I talk to says that I don't belong here?"

"Ignore them." I quickly said before grinning. "Better yet, tell them to forward their complaints to the Royal Palace. That should shut a few of them up."

Probably due to the absurdity of my statement, Olivia actually started giggling. It sounded nice.

"We still have a bit more tea and snacks. Why don't you help me take care of the rest of them, eh?" She accepted and we continued our impromptu Tea Party, even though it really didn't have anything to do with its intended purpose of finding me a bride.

Olivia also brought up the desire to learn more about Magic but she said that she seemed to keep offending everyone because of certain "unwritten rules" in the Academy. Ah, yes. I knew about the Academy's version of the "Bro Code" and I can't even imagine what the super secret rules for the girls would be like.

I felt my eye twitch when I realized that I knew a person who would be perfect to help Olivia. It'd be like pulling teeth, but I wasn't heartless enough to leave her like that. I knew a thing or two about being looked down upon.

"Actually, I know someone who can help." I winced when I saw the beautiful smile that Olivia suddenly had. Yeah, no backing out of this then.

After calling for her and waiting several minutes, my older sister sat between me and Olivia. Her new cat-eared beast slave, one that mom got really pissed at her for getting, stood stoically behind her. I wonder if she knew why cats yowled all the time whenever they mated?

"Well, at least you had the good sense to call upon me instead of trying to give her advice yourself." Jenna imperiously after taking a sip of the tea I poured her. Physically, she takes after our mother pretty accurately. Long brown hair tied to a ponytail and sharp amber eyes that gave a tomboyish impression. Sadly, she was nowhere near as nice as mom was.

"Thanks for coming, Jenna. I really appreciate you taking the time to help Olivia with this." I replied with a smile through gritted teeth. My sister looked at the fidgeting Olivia then back to me, her eyes narrowing.

"Why are you even helping out the Special Scholarship Student? Don't you have your own things to worry about?" I chose to ignore the flinch that Olivia had at the question. "What do you even get out of it?"

Aside from ensuring that she becomes Holfort's salvation when the time comes? No, that reason was plenty. I live here after all.

"You know how I'm just prone to random bouts of altruism, dear sister. I mean, I put most of my treasure towards improving our family lands without a second thought." I answered with a much more natural smile. Jenna clicked her tongue and looked away. Yeah, all the extra income that had been flowing because of my contributions was the only reason why she was able to even afford her catboy and she knew it.

She then proceeded to educate Olivia about the proper courtesy in paying respect to the girls in her class. From writing a letter and providing a gift to the one with the richest family, making sure to do her proper research beforehand. Even going so far as asking for an intermediary from their entourage. Why was this starting to sound like political bribery?

"I don't have the kind of money to buy high quality sweets!" Olivia said in a panic when Jenna suggested the type of gifts that would work best. Jenna then gave her a sweet smile before gesturing to me. Wait–

"I'm sure Leon's random bouts of altruism will kick in and he'll finance your gift." As irritating as it was, I could respect the turnabout my sister pulled. "If the girl talks to you directly or reciprocates with her own gift, then you're good until graduation as long as you don't do anything stupid."

Olivia glanced at me nervously and I knew I was trapped. "I'll pay for your gift, don't worry."

"I'll pay you back for it eventually, I promise!" I waved off her concern and noticed Jenna eating up the remainder of the snacks I set out. Well, that was fine. She gave good advice without giving Olivia a hard time for being a commoner.

Jenna left soon after finishing up the snacks, with Olivia leaving a bit later to research a suitable gift for her class' top dog. I closed the door and started cleaning up.

That girl Olivia could sense Getter Radiation.

Control finally spoke out once I was alone. "I was wondering if that was what she was talking about. Is it dangerous?"

It should not be. I have been monitoring your health ever since you started piloting Black Getter F and there have been no ill effects. Proximity to other humans have not caused any issues for them either.

"Olivia is the main protagonist of the game. It might be her potential as a Saint that is making her notice, maybe." Though I had no idea what Getter Rays had to do with her specifically. Another change from what happened in the game?

Perhaps. Though I thought you said that you were going to stay under the radar, as it were?

"Well, you did say that I jinxed myself." I sarcastically said before thinking about it a bit more. "But this situation is something I can work with."

How so?

I then explained that Olivia should have already started getting the attention and support of the love interests. "But she said that she didn't have any friends. With Marie taking up Prince Julius' attention, she doesn't even have his support until she gets close to one of them."

Then are you suggesting that you would take on the role of Olivia's love interest?

I made a horrified expression at the implication. "No way! Don't even joke about that, Control!"

Why not? She clearly already sees you as a friend at the very least. Additionally, you are already supporting her and have the means to protect her if the need arises.

"I'm a mob character, Control. It doesn't matter if I have Black Getter and the Nagare." I grumbled as I explained my personal importance once again. As much as I had accomplished already, they were there to secure my own future. I didn't have any delusions that they were really all that impressive in the grand scheme of things. "Narratively and politically, I'm a nobody. No, the plan will be that I will use my new bond with Olivia to nudge her towards one of the love interests. They hit it off, fall in love, save Holfort, and I quietly fade into the background as they ride off into the sunset."

A viable strategy. Though I hope that you are not artificially devaluing yourself by thinking that way. You are worth more than you think you do, Leon.

I chose not to respond to that statement.

…

Olivia stood nervously in the personal quarters of Angelica Rapha Redgrave. After a few days of asking around, it turned out that all the girls had to pay respect to Angelica as the highest ranked girl in the academy. In hindsight, it made sense as she was going to eventually marry the Crown Prince.

"I acknowledge your effort to pay respect to me, Olivia." Angelica eventually said after she sipped some tea. "I have no personal grudge against you. Simply act as is appropriate for someone of your station and you should not encounter any issues."

Olivia breathed a sigh of relief. It was just like what Jenna told her. "I can stay at the Academy then?"

She knew that she had overstepped her bounds with how Angelica gave her a sharp look. She dismissed the other girls who were also in the room and waited until they were alone before speaking once more. "You were supposed to just partake of the tea, nod, and leave. Asking questions unnecessarily will just create complications if you are not careful."

"I'm sorry?" Olivia apologized, a bit surprised at the gentler tone that Angelica spoke to her with.

Angelica regarded the commoner in front of her. She wasn't anything special. Indeed, she looked rather plain as she gently started drinking her own cup of tea. She was certainly more pleasant than that girl who had been getting closer to the prince. Angelica closed her eyes and calmed herself down. This wasn't the time for that.

"I'd like to know how you were able to ascertain the proper protocol in the first place." She raised a hand when Olivia suddenly looked distressed. "I am not asking because I am upset. I am merely curious."

From what her followers had told her about Olivia, the girl didn't have any friends to speak of. The boys were all looking at other girls and the girls didn't want anything to do with her. Angelica wanted to know who decided it was worth their time to reach out to her.

"Oh, it was Leon. Leon Fou Bartfort." The girl helpfully answered.

"The third Bartfort son. I had heard of his eccentricities, though I don't dislike him." Angelica mused as she recalled what she knew about the boy.

"You know Leon?"

"I'm surprised you don't know more about him. He is rather gifted and is certain to become a knight." Angelica said. At the dumbfounded look Olivia gave her, she decided to educate the poor girl further. "To be able to attain the rank of Baron by himself, to say nothing of his accomplishments as an Adventurer. He has already achieved more for his age than most would ever even try. A very impressive young man."

Olivia just sat there as Angelica complimented Leon. Was her new friend really that amazing?!

 

[Blackraptor]

Holfort was founded on the blood, sweat, and tears of Adventurers. The profession was ingrained into the society as much as the Samurai were in Japan. As such, all Academy students, regardless of status, were registered with the Adventurer's Guild. The intention was so that even the children of nobility would be able to experience a bit of what their ancestors once did. Children of lower nobility actually took advantage of the certification to gain extra funds from Adventuring. It was apparently very common for male students to go out and accrue cash by doing this during holidays or the weekends. Tea Parties weren't cheap after all.

I didn't have to register with the guild as I was already an active adventurer in the system. I was actually super excited when we were told that there would be Adventuring classes where we would delve into the dungeon inside the Capital. I didn't actually get a proper dungeon dive when I found the Saotome Research Lab as it wasn't even a dungeon to begin with.

When Control found out what this particular class was all about, the AI immediately went and put together equipment for me to use. Everything was manufactured in the Nagare and was delivered to me via my family a few days ago.

The first thing I got was my armor, but really, it was supposed to be my official pilot suit for Black Getter. Control had apparently already been designing it for a while now and just expedited the creation process. It was a full body suit that covered me from neck to toe. Form fitting but incredibly comfy and was apparently fully weather insulated. Most of it was colored black but had grey lines that zig-zagged from my shoulders to my knees. There was a big green racing stripe that went from my sternum, then around my shoulders, and down the sides of my arms. The boots and gauntlets had some sort of plating protecting them. It was sort of like ceramic but I was sure it was probably something stronger. Around my waist was a metal belt that had electromagnetic points on the sides and rear. In the middle of my upper chest was a small stylized silhouette of Black Getter's head, sans scarf. The logo, guess. Completing the look was a scarf that was black on the outside and red on the inside.

When I asked Control if the scarf was really necessary, the Drone broke stealth and went right up to my face before answering in the most serious tone I had ever heard from them.

Yes. It is a sacred tradition.

Control also assured me that the suit itself would be more than capable of protecting my body despite the lack of visible armoring around vital areas.

The reactive material of the suit will detect if you are about to be exposed to physical trauma and will harden as needed. It is how it protects you should you be exposed to extreme forces while piloting.

I asked how the suit could do that and Control started an exhaustive explanation. When they realized that I understood none of the science behind it, the AI just sighed and told me not to worry about it.

But of course, something had to bring my mood down. My success had once again bitten me in the ass considering the people I was accompanying in this particular expedition.

I looked at a nervous looking Olivia at my side. She was wearing a much more traditional looking set of adventuring armor, at my recommendation. She wore leather clothing under plates of armor that covered her chest, arms, and shins. It emphasized protecting critical parts while being flexible enough to run with. Unfortunately, the rest of our peers seemed to prioritize looking good over actually having protection.

"I'm sorry you had to be here, but Miss Angelica was insistent that you come with us." The 'us' that Olivia was talking about was what can be considered as the Upper Crust of our year. There looked to be around thirty students all in all, including the two of us. The most notable members of our Raid Group were Angelica, Prince Julius, and the rest of the love interests.

I took a glance at the remaining two that I hadn't encountered yet.

One was tall and slender, notable for having light blue hair and matching eyes. His glasses only enhanced his image as a stern individual. He had a sword strapped to the waist of his stylish outfit. Chris Fia Arclight, the son of Holfort's Sword Saint and the game's tryhard swordmaster type.

The other one was a complete contrast to Chris. Greg Fou Seberg looked like the ideal rugged type of guy. Short red hair with matching eyes. He was quite muscular, which was demonstrated by his rolled up sleeves that exposed his large arms. A well crafted spear was propped up on his shoulder.

The two infighters amongst the love interests. Both are pretty reliable in a scrap, but that was all they were good for. Together with Julius, Jilk, and Brad, the five of them exuded charisma regular guys like me couldn't hope to come close to.

So, why the hell were Olivia and I among this group of super elites?

Olivia was a unique existence for being the first and only Special Scholarship Student. On the other hand, I was already an established adventurer and that apparently meant that I could be counted on to act as a bodyguard to Prince Julius. Olivia said that Angelica was the one who recommended me for the position.

I still hadn't expected that the girl Olivia gave her gift to as tribute was Angelica. At least she told me that their meeting was pretty amicable. A sharp contrast to their relationship in the game.

Regardless, such a thing should be unnecessary. We were only going through the first level of the beginner floors. So up to Floor Three at most. Our sheer numbers alone would guarantee that any monsters that showed up would just get dogpiled on immediately.

We were instructed to split up into teams and make our way to the third floor as I predicted. The teachers will be down there to confirm our accomplishment as well as prevent idiots from trying to go deeper. We all split off into five teams of six, though we all just moved together anyway. The only difference was that Prince Julius' group was in the middle because he couldn't afford to be harmed. My group was acting as a vanguard, because of course we were. It was me, Olivia, and four randos I didn't really care about.

People were finalizing their groupings when Angelica's furious shrieking echoed through the caverns. What the hell?

I took a look at the developing situation and saw someone I should have also expected. Marie was hiding behind Julius while Angelica was understandably trying to get the other girl away from her betrothed.

"What is happening? Why is Miss Angelica so angry?" Olivia fretted at my side. That's what I wanted to know! This was supposed to be an event where Olivia was protected by Julius from Angelica!

It got even worse when the rest of the love interests started stepping up to stand between Marie and Angelica. The confrontation quickly ended after that. When I glanced at Marie and saw her victorious smirk, it all clicked.

She was going to try to replace Olivia as the main protagonist!

The teachers had us proceed through the dungeons before anything else happened between the students. I looked at Angelica's frustration as she ignored her followers, then to Marie's joyous face as she basked in the attention of the love interests, then finally to Olivia's nervousness as she walked alongside me. I concluded that the whole situation was nuts.

All in all, the walk through the dungeon was pretty boring. The environment was basically an abandoned mine with wide tunnels and passageways that led all over the place. The advantage we had as the vanguard was that we basically had first pick on any treasure chests and resource points that showed up.

"But why are there treasure chests appearing out of nowhere?" Olivia asked as she pulled out a chunk of iron straight out of the wall. It wasn't even ore, it was already refined. "Even these minerals, it all seems too convenient."

"Who knows?" I answered with a shrug as I gathered my own resources. This was more in line with what I was expecting a dungeon dive would be like.

Olivia pouted at my flippancy. "Aren't you even a bit curious?"

The girl definitely showed her lack of experience with those questions. Actual Adventurers didn't care at all and just wanted the loot from dungeons.

Olivia and I ended up taking point in our team, making us walk way ahead of the main group itself. We didn't really click with any of the other people so we just gravitated to each other again. After a bit more walking, I noticed movement from further down the passageway.

"Speaking of things in the dungeon that inexplicably appear out of nowhere." I spoke out while deliberately stepping in front of Olivia. The girl curiously looked past me and gasped. Three dog sized ants skittered their way towards us.

My hands went to my waist as I gripped the handles of the weapons Control made for me, the electromagnets in my belt that kept them in place turning off. I had originally intended to come down here with my regular rifle and sword combination, but was vetoed by the AI. Instead, I held in each hand a pair of hand clubs that had each had an axe head sticking out the side.

Control called them Tomahawks, but I was pretty sure that actual tomahawks didn't look like these things. When I asked why the tip of the club was so wide and heavy, Control just said that it made it easier to throw them.

I decided to test that out on one of the giant ants. Once they got close enough, I pulled my arm back and threw the tomahawk in my right hand. It spun in the air, end over end, before bisecting the ant and lodging itself on the ground by the axe blade. These things were sharper than I thought. The giant insect carapace didn't even slow it down by even a bit.

The remaining two ants continued their advance towards us, not even bothering to acknowledge the death of their companion. I switched my remaining tomahawk to my right hand and prepared to intercept. Their jaws opened up and looked to be targeting my legs, though I doubt they would have been able to bite through my boots. They were almost in range when a shot rang out from behind me and hit the ground right in front of one of the ants. Olivia yelped as the recoil from the magic handgun that Angelica apparently lent her made her take a step back. I wasn't about to complain about the support as her attack still made one of the ants hesitate, letting me have a go at them one at a time.

Quickly side stepping away from the lead ant, I raised my tomahawk and brought it down on its body before it could keep going and attack Olivia. Surprisingly, it still moved but was quickly dealt with by a shot to the head by Olivia. At that range, she didn't miss. I pulled out my weapon from the dissolving corpse and, in one motion, smashed the head of the third ant right as it got close to me.

"That was so scary!" Olivia exclaimed, her voice trembling. She had her handgun in a deathgrip, though it was pointed at the ground thankfully. "Are there even more of those monsters down here?"

"Well yeah, it's a dungeon." I answered with a shrug. Honestly, the ants were jokes compared to the monsters we had in the wilderness back home. I took another glance at Olivia and her gun. "You'll want to put in more practice with that thing."

The girl nodded and regarded the weapon in her hands. "I know. One of Miss Angelica's friends showed me how to use it but firing it against moving things is much harder than a target."

I hummed in response and walked over to the tomahawk that I threw. Just then, a shape shot out from the darkness and went for my head. I was barely able to raise my left arm to block it. The screeching of a monkey-like monster echoed as it reached out and clawed at my face, making me wince when the sharp nails dug into my cheek.

"Leon!" I ignored Olivia's cries due to the monkey snapping its jaws at my face.

"That's enough of that." I snarled while angling the tomahawk in my hand against its neck. A swift slice later, the monster's head and body separated and fell to the ground. I touched my cheek and winced, my fingers coming away with blood. That's what I got for being overconfident.

"Leon, you're hurt!" Olivia reached up and checked my wound. I was about to say that it was fine when I saw a faint white light coming from her hands. The stinging pain on my face was quickly replaced by warmth and relief. Ah, right. The main protagonist was special because of her Healing Magic, something that was rare in the setting.

Olivia proceeded to give me a smile that made my heart race. "All healed up. Does it still hurt?"

"No, it's perfect." I mumbled. "Thank you, Olivia."

I picked up the tomahawk on the ground and secured both of them back on my waist. Olivia and I turned back to the direction where the rest of the group was when we heard the familiar shrieks of monsters.

"There must be monsters that are coming in from the side tunnels." I mused. I looked at Olivia when she pulled on my arm.

"Should we go back and help them?" She asked worriedly. Normally, that would be the right thing to do.

"They'll be fine. There are too many of us to be actually threatened by the types of monsters that are at this level." Not to mention that the love interests along with Angelica should be able to deal with it. "Plus they have Greg, who has already gone through a few dungeons himself."

"We're the vanguard, so we need to make sure that at least they don't have to worry about any monsters coming from the front." I reasoned. But really, I just didn't want to bother walking back to help in a fight that I probably wasn't needed in.

Olivia seemed to take my advice to heart and gave a determined nod.

We continued through the dungeon and got through the second floor. Olivia still had some difficulty hitting moving targets but the distractions made it easy for me to get better positioning. Fighting like this was way better than the turn based system that the game had. I didn't need to wait for my enemies to act on their turn!

"Well, what do you know." I commented as one of the ants that Olivia shot and killed suddenly glowed bright and turned into a treasure chest. "Congratulations, Olivia. You got a treasure chest."

"But why?" She asked in confusion. Yeah, seeing something like that happen before your eyes was probably pretty weird the first time.

"Who cares? Come on, open it up." I urged and got a surprised look.

"Me? But you're the one who has been doing most of the fighting." She pointed out, but I just waved her off and gestured to the chest.

"It was your kill that turned into a chest, so the contents belong to you." That and any treasure drops from monsters this weak wouldn't be anything good anyway.

With one more concerned glance towards me, Olivia proceeded to open the chest. Her eyes widened and her face split into a big smile. Reaching into the chest, she pulled out a bundle of plants.

"Leon, look! These are healing herbs!" As expected, they were pretty common drops. "How much should I keep?"

I blinked at her question. "What do you mean?"

"Huh? I mean, how much of this do you want as your portion?" Ah, now I understand. I shook my head and smiled at her.

"We have been working together, but that kill was all you. This is your accomplishment, so that is your reward." I explained one of the basic rules of Adventuring. Olivia looked between me and the herbs in her hands.

"Mine?" I nodded and her eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, this is my reward."

Tears formed in her eyes and Olivia started laughing. I blinked in confusion and just waited for her to calm down. She took a deep breath and gave me another heartfelt smile.

"Thank you, Leon."

Ba-dump

Ah. The charisma of an Otome Protagonist is pretty scary.

 

[Blackraptor]

One of the things I definitely wasn't expecting when I became friends with Olivia was her complete willingness to abuse her ability to see the Getter Rays coming off me. Whenever she had the chance to, the girl unerringly tracked me down and suggested that we eat lunch or study together. After the first few times, I asked how she kept finding me and she just shrugged before answering.

"I just followed the green light."

Scary!

Olivia was becoming scary!

We were studying at the library when I made another realization about Olivia. She was smart, intimidatingly so. She was able to read ahead enough on magic studies that she was effectively six months ahead of the actual topics being discussed. I wasn't even able to keep up with her pace and just made up vague explanations and suppositions whenever she had a question.

For some reason, she was happy with all my answers no matter how dumb they sounded even to me. Each smile and word of thanks made me feel like climbing into a hole and never coming out.

I had forgotten how terrifying the protagonist's growth rate was once she decided on a specialization.

One thing I did want to talk to her about was the girl who had been stealing away her love interests one by one. They were idiots and were useless without Olivia in the game, but they were going to be instrumental in her rise to becoming a Saint.

"I don't know much about Marie. She was being bullied even worse than I was for a while but that has settled down recently." Olivia said when I asked what she knew about the other girl. When I asked if she had any interactions with Marie directly, Olivia stared at me with an expression I couldn't recognize. "Are girls like Marie more to your liking?"

I blinked and leaned forward. "I would rather jump off a floating island and have the island fall on top of me."

Olivia giggled at my heartfelt answer and shook her head. She then thought about my previous question.

"I haven't talked to her a lot, but she doesn't seem to like me." She sighed as she looked like recalling a memory. "Whenever we would encounter each other, she would tell me to leave. When I finally gathered the courage to ask why she was so mean, she just said that she hated girls like me."

Well, that confirmed that Marie was comfortably against Olivia. So much for having them talk it out and come to an agreement when it came to the love interests. Looks like Olivia would need to stake her own claims on at least one of them.

We were walking through the library to leave when we heard giggling and whispers coming from between the shelves. I silently cursed whoever was having fun in the library and decided to maybe give them a bit of a spook.

"Where are you going?" Olivia asked as I made the detour. She blinked when she started hearing the same thing I did. "What is that?"

"A pair of students trying to have an intimate moment." It takes a few seconds for Olivia to understand what I was talking about. When she did, her face went completely red and she started pulling on my arm.

"We shouldn't snoop around other people's private affairs." Sorry Olivia. While that is probably true under most circumstances, I need to keep track of which girls are already getting taken for the sake of finding myself a nice girl to marry.

"Then they shouldn't be doing it in public areas." I pointed out. Olivia ended up being sort of dragged along as I moved between the shelves until we found the perpetrators.

"That's–" I raised a finger to my lips to signal Olivia to stay quiet. I felt my enthusiasm burn and crackle to ash as we watched Marie being held against a bookshelf and making out with Brad Fou Field. Of course it would be the playboy. I moved to leave but Olivia seemed paradoxically entranced, I had to tug at her arm a couple of times until she followed.

"Was that supposed to be kissing?" She whispered to herself, face red and fingers touching her lips. "Why their tongues though?"

I tuned out the rest of her muttering as we left the library for my own sanity. The only thing on my mind was how Marie already triggered multiple events with at least two of the love interests.

I spent a few days unsuccessfully trying to find situations where Olivia could raise some flags with the other love interests. The girl seemed confused by some of my actions, with trying to have her observe Chris' training or Greg's workouts. Unfortunately, they were usually either too busy or were already surrounded by other people. It didn't help that Olivia's schedule didn't line up with mine or the love interests well under most circumstances. Jilk was next to impossible as he was attached to the prince's hip. No chance of getting him alone with Olivia either.

The few days when I tried to get my mind off the dilemma with Olivia, I was reminded of my own problems when it came to girls.

"Milly and Jessica already accepted proposals." Daniel sullenly reported when him, me, and Raymond were hanging out in my room. I winced at the news as those two were top class first year girls who were both rich and actually had good personalities. It was worse since Raymond had told us about his plan to invite Milly to a Tea Party.

"There is no hope. All the remaining first year girls are horrible!" Daniel bemoaned before looking at me. "What about you, Leon? Did you already give up? You've been spending all your time with the Scholarship girl."

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "I've been trying. But all my Tea Party invitations get turned down."

My two friends looked at each other and Raymond put his hand on my shoulder. "It's because you've been completely focused on the Scholarship–"

"Her name is Olivia." I interrupted, getting mad at how people kept referring to her with a label instead of her name. The two of them looked startled at my outburst but they quickly looked at me with worry.

"That's what we're talking about. Girls avoid you because of how close you are to…Olivia." Daniel explained slowly. "Maybe you should put some distance between the two of you?"

The idea was logical, but it just left a bitter taste in my mouth. I should have been fine with their suggestion since I've been trying to set Olivia up with one of the love interests.

"-then Prince Julius just went off on Angelica and yelled at her to stop bullying Marie." Raymond's words snapped me out of my thoughts. He noticed my alarmed expression. "Do you know anything about this, Leon?"

"No…just surprised that the prince would do something like that." I lied through my teeth. They seemed to buy it as they started talking about something else. I was still thinking about what happened to the prince. I knew that event pretty well, mainly because it was supposed to happen in the late game on his route.

Both my friends left after a bit longer and I was left with my thoughts. Events out of sequence. A girl in the place of the protagonist. The protagonist was not being close to any of the love interests.

You are distressed.

I sighed at Control's voice. They hadn't approved of my plan to guide Olivia to tripping flags with the love interests, but didn't say anything when I tried it anyway. "Everything is a mess. Marie is stealing Olivia's love interests and things aren't happening the ways that they should."

As I previously suggested, Marie Fou Lafan may very well be a reincarnated individual like yourself. She is likely trying to take Olivia's place, with everything that comes with it.

"Even if that's the case, she should know that Olivia is required to end up with at least one of those guys to stop what will eventually happen." I whined as I flopped onto my bed. "If I could just have Olivia get Chris' or Greg's attention then we may still be able to salvage the plot."

Leon, we may need to accept that the original sequence of events based on your knowledge is obsolete. Too many variables have been introduced. Too many events have deviated.

"No, we have to stick to the script. Once the situation with Olivia gets resolved then I can go back to trying to find a bride." I insisted with gritted teeth. It was something I'd realized that I didn't want to let go.

Why are you so insistent that things not change even though they already have? I doubt Olivia would appreciate being foisted to one of these so-called love interests.

"Because if I don't fix the plot…"

Staring at the Title Screen

Trial and Error

Failures

Traps

Inescapable Bad Ends

Different Endings

Different Routes

Looking for Secrets

Using Microtransactions

Sleepless Nights

Repetition

Neverending Repetition

Over

and

Over

and

Over

Until it was Over

"...then why the hell am I even here?" What did I die for?

Control didn't answer for a while so I just closed my eyes and wallowed in silence.

Then perhaps, like Marie. You are here to change the script.

I opened my eyes, looked up at the ceiling, and wondered what the hell Control was talking about.

This is not your dating sim. People don't act on a script or through triggers of events. They interact, bond, and change organically. They make choices and live with the consequences of them. They have free will.

I knew that. Deep down, from the moment I started bonding with Olivia, I knew. "Then that means the things I know are worthless."

Not all of it, but I would not suggest forcing yourself or others to adhere to it. A more agile way of thinking will be required moving forward.

"You're pretty good at this whole talking things through thing." I couldn't help but smile when I said it.

Personal Emotional Development and Self-Actualization are hallmarks of becoming a Getter pilot. I see no reason why you would be any different.

I took a deep breath and sat up. "Where does that leave us?"

We know precious little about the actualities of the overarching situation. Finding out more on the facts in the situations of Marie and Angelica would be a good start.

"It's not like I can spy on either of them without immediately looking suspicious." It made sense but I wasn't some sort of fantasy ninja who could remain undetected.

Leon?

"Yeah?"

I am invisible.

I blinked before I collapsed into a fit of laughter. "Have I told you how much I love you, Control?"

Not recently, but thank you.

…

Angelica Rapha Redgrave was a descendant of royalty. As befitting her station, she stayed in the most luxurious room available for girls. She stood by the window of her room, her followers just finished telling her that Prince Julius had bought Marie Fou Lafan a demi-human slave. The symbolism of such a gift would be obvious to anyone.

She dismissed her followers and walked to a nearby table. She took a deep breath and proceeded to throw a small vase against the floor.

"Why?! Why her?! Why is he so absorbed in satisfying her whims?!" She yelled as she threw more objects across the room.

Angelica was the daughter of a Duke. In terms of rank and prestige, she was the ideal partner. It was why she was going to marry Prince Julius. She was raised to be the next Queen.

Not long ago, the prince and the other heirs of the high lords interrogated the girls who were bullying Marie. Angelica herself had not ordered anyone to harass the girl, such actions were beneath her. They weren't even her followers. Unfortunately, they didn't care about their actual affiliation. What mattered ultimately was that the bullies indicated her as the mastermind.

She had tried to explain it to Julius, but he nor his friends would give her the chance and just condemned her all the same. Even now, Marie's power base due to her association with them grew by the day. Angelica didn't care about the girl's personal clout. What rankled her more was how quickly and deeply Julius and the others believed the lies.

She ended up as nothing more than a scapegoat.

"Why? I was raised to be with the prince. If I can't be with him…" Angelica whispered while curling into a ball.

"...then why am I even here?" What did she dedicate her childhood for?

No one answered her. The only sounds that could be heard were Angelica's own sobs.

…

Olivia was just an ordinary girl who just happened to be able to use Healing Magic. She was discovered in her village by a traveling sage and a whirlwind sequence of events ended up with her enrolled at the Academy as a Special Scholarship Student. She was then expected to study alongside the nobility.

To say that she was out of place was an understatement. Ridicule and bullying followed. She didn't understand why everyone was either ignoring her or being angry at her. She had hoped that participating in a Tea Party would change that.

It did, but not at the Tea Party she intended to attend nor was it in the way she expected.

A young man who earned everything with his own two hands. Who had the respect and admiration of the highest ranking female student of their year. Who was so far out of Olivia's league that she shouldn't even associate with him. To her utter disbelief, that wasn't the case either.

He invited her to have tea with him.

He had his sister help her with the dilemma she was going through.

He helped her buy a gift to have her at least tolerated by the other girls.

He guided her through her first foray into an actual dungeon.

He helped her study and accompanied her whenever she asked.

He even tried to introduce her to new people, unsuccessful as the attempts were.

"I don't know why I'm here…" She whispered to herself as she closed her book.

You deserve to be here.

"...but I'm here for a reason." And as long as he was at her side, she would find that answer.

 

[Blackraptor]

"And that's five." I bitterly muttered as Control projected a video they recorded of Marie being kissed by Greg. I already saw her and Chris cozying up the other day as well. "I guess she wins the any-percent reverse-harem speedrun."

I don't know what any of those words mean together, but I can sense annoyance and begrudging respect.

Marie played her part as the pseudo-protagonist perfectly as far as raising flags with the love interests went. Even if I had continued my original plan of introducing Olivia to Chris or Greg, it would have been too late anyway.

Will this affect events negatively moving forward?

"Hopefully, the endgame won't trigger just because of all the flags." I still had to consciously keep myself from treating everything as a series of flags and events, but Control was there to call me out whenever I would relapse back into that way of thinking. However, we could still use the more major world events as references.

There were a number of different endings available in the game depending on which love interest the player chose. However, the final third of the game would always be about dealing with the same ultimate threat.

The Principality of Fanoss

A former territory of the Holfort Kingdom that had gained independence a long time ago. They developed a deep seated hatred towards the Kingdom due to multiple attempts to militarily reabsorb the Principality.

They would eventually end up attacking Holfort in ever escalating capacity and it would be up to the player and their love interest to help deal with them. Mainly through the manifestation of Olivia's power as a Saint, something I currently had no idea how to resolve yet.

I had educated Control about the Principality and they suggested against trying to deal with the threat prematurely. They reasoned that we didn't know any possible consequences in being the aggressor of the conflict. I agreed as I honestly didn't want to kill anyone anyway.

"What I'm worried about is Angelica." I brought up something I've only recently considered. Angelica wasn't just an obstacle or Boss that Olivia or Marie had to overcome. She was an actual person like me.

Prince Julius' betrothed as well the primary antagonist of the game.

I nodded and thought back at all the events Marie had managed to trigger so far. With what Angelica had already gone through and what her personality was like. "She must be losing her mind with how fast Marie managed to seduce Prince Julius away from her."

You believe that she will try to do something drastic.

I closed my eyes and ran through the events of the game. They weren't as reliable as I wanted anymore, but there would still be things that would probably stay the same. All the events Marie had triggered lent credence to that. "There will be an event where she would have challenged Olivia to an Armor duel. It would end up being between champions of their choice. The event should be months away to let the player bulk up in power and get used to the Armor combat mechanic with their chosen love interest."

The timetable for that may end up being moved up then, should we intervene?

That was the big question. Based on the information that Control had gathered about Angelica, her reputation was at an all-time low. Multiple public displays of disdain by Prince Julius and the other love interests made associating with her political kryptonite. Even if she challenged Marie and her reverse-harem to a duel, I didn't know who she'd even have on her side.

The thought made me more irritated than I expected, that Marie could just do that to someone.

"I don't really have any good reason to get involved in their affairs. I doubt I can just arrange a meeting with her." I lamented to Control.

Actually, you may have a means to meet her privately.

"Well, I'm open to any suggestions." It was so great to have someone to bounce ideas off of and give reasonable ideas–

Invite her to a Tea Party.

–nevermind. "Control, you understand the purpose of Tea Parties, right?"

I have done research on the activity and made independent observations on other Tea Parties that have been held.

Right. That was part of their personal initiative to learn more about the current culture that humanity ended up with.

Though their primary purpose is for young bachelors to attract prospective spouses, there does not seem to be any rules to prevent anyone who is already engaged from hosting or attending a Tea Party.

The frustrating thing about it was that Control was completely right. The five love interests have all hosted Tea Parties to great success even though a few of them were already slated to marry someone else.

"Would she even entertain an invitation from someone like me?" I voiced my doubts based on the disparity between the status of me and Angelica. To say nothing about how hyperfocused she seemed to be about Prince Julius.

Angelica was the one who recommended you for that expedition through a dungeon some time ago. We can at least assume that she has an awareness of you, perhaps even having a positive opinion of you. It may be enough for her to accept an invitation.

Okay, those were actually pretty good points. Then again, "I'd rather not have any rumors developing around the two of us though."

Then I suggest inviting Oliva along as well. That would assuage possible concerns as most of the first-year student body are already of the impression that you and Olivia are romantically involved.

"What?! Since when?!" I asked in complete panic.

No brain! Shut up! Stop imagining Olivia in romantic situations.! You're supposed to be on my side!

There have been minor whispers but the rumors gained more traction after the previously mentioned dungeon expedition.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?!"

I had thought that you were aware of it with how much time the two of you have been spending with each other. It would not be a leap of logic from an outsider's perspective as to the nature of your relationship.

"That wasn't my intention at all! That was mostly Olivia tracking me down and asking me to do stuff with her!" I yelled and was about to complain some more when Control's next words made my thoughts freeze up.

Then will you start distancing yourself from Olivia as previously suggested by your two friends?

I opened my mouth but couldn't bring myself to say 'yes'.

"Shit." I settled instead.

Since this is already the current perception, we may as well take advantage of it.

I grumbled some more but couldn't fault the AI's reasoning. "Fine. We'll figure out a way to sort out the whole Olivia thing later."

As I mentioned earlier, Angelica seems to see you in a favorable light. Additionally, she seems to also see Olivia positively. She even let her keep the weapon she lent, did she not?

Control was talking about the magic handgun that Olivia said Angelica lent her for the dungeon when the other girl found out that she didn't have any weapons at all. It all lined up pretty well, all in all. "I can't believe I'm actually starting to think that this will be a good idea."

Any further discussion on the matter was interrupted when someone started banging on my door.

"Leon! Open this door! We need to talk! Now!" I blinked at Jenna's pissed off voice. I glanced at Control, the Stealth Probe they were using immediately went invisible. I gave it a few more seconds before opening the door. Jenna stormed inside, followed by her catboy slave, even before I could get a word out.

"Nice to see you too, Jenna." I sarcastically greeted my older sister while closing the door.

"Cute, now start talking." I furrowed my brow at her.

"Jenna, I have no idea what you even want me to talk about."

"Of course you don't." She muttered, quite more high strung than she usually was. "Tell me about what the hell is going on in the first-year department!"

I sighed and shook my head. "Still not specific enough, sorry."

"There are crazy rumors going around everywhere and I don't know who to believe. You have to know something." Ah, so all the nonsense going on had started filtering up to our seniors. Well, there's only one big topic recently.

"Let me guess, Marie Fou Lafan?" Jenna perked up immediately and pointed at me.

"So you do know something! Talk!" Jeez, you could turn it down a few notches, sis.

"From what I can tell, she's managed to get pretty close to Prince Julius and the rest of his friends." I gave her an abridged count of what a student would likely know. I sure wasn't going to tell her what I really knew.

"That matches up with some of what I learned. What about the Duke's daughter that's in your year?" Angelica? They even know about the incidents with her? "The Prince has gotten pretty upset at her a few times in public."

I thought about it and realized that it was a good opportunity to get a fresh perspective. If Jenna was going to grill me for information, I might as well get something out of it. "Actually, have you heard anything about that on your end? People have been saying that she was the one who ordered the bullying on Marie."

"Of course they'd say that." Jenna sighed, like she was just told something particularly stupid. "Someone at her rank wouldn't need to make the order, the people below her would have done it on their own. Think about it, she's the daughter of a Duke. If she really wanted Marie gone, then she'd be gone. Permanently."

I blinked from what she just said. "So she had nothing to do with it?"

"It doesn't matter. If her minions were doing it, then she still needs to take responsibility." My sister scoffed. What? That's bullshit!

"That's not fair. Shouldn't the culprits themselves take the fall?" I asked and Jenna suddenly looked really tired.

"That's how these things go."

Then Angelica really didn't bully Marie at all? But that was how it went in the game with the player. Or was I actually misremembering it and just forgot the specifics?

"The other years are going all in a panic over all this. Even my plans have been messed up! Argh! Do you have any idea what this means?!" I blinked at the sudden resurgence of emotion.

"I'm sorry you've been having a hard time at school?" I tried and failed to guess what Jenna meant. She looked up at the ceiling as if the answers to life were stuck up there.

"You're in the same year as the future King! If you can get in his favor then you're set for life. If you piss him off, then it's over for you!." She explained before she suddenly stopped and walked up to me. "You're not involved in this mess, right?"

"I promise that I am not presently involved with any of the nonsense that has been going on around the prince. Honestly, I've had my hands full with my own problems like you said." I said, referencing her own words from the time she gave Olivia some advice. She narrowed her eyes at me for a few seconds but eventually nodded.

"Each of the grades have separate end-of-term parties. Don't do anything stupid during yours." She reminded me before walking up to my door. "And make sure you find a suitable bride!"

Well, if she was going to act like that. "I will as soon as you find a husband."

"Go jump out a window!" She yelled before walking out of my room with her slave and slamming my door closed.

Just like old times.

She will be very disappointed in you once she finds out where you actually stand on the matter.

I snorted at Control's comment. "What she doesn't know can't hurt me."

I went over to my bed and sat down, thinking over the situation with the info tha Jenna just added. Marie was really stirring things up everywhere. I wondered if that also went on in the background during the game but was just never given any focus?

Will we still move forward with my suggestion?

Inviting Angelica over for a tea party to give her a place to relax and be away from all the crap she was probably dealing with. If successful, we might be able to at least mitigate a bit of the emotional damage she was suffering from. Even better if she reacts positively to it and Olivia and I gain a new political ally. It really was a good idea.

In fact…

"Actually, since we're already going to do something I would have thought crazy anyway." I started, licking my lips. Was I really going to do this? Fight fire with fire, as it were? "What are the chances that the betrothed of other love interests would want to vent about the current situation with Marie over tea and snacks as well?"

Are you planning on taking their future brides for yourself?

Control's words made my brain stall for a second before I started laughing. "That sounds a bit too crazy, Control. No, I just want to see if I can get a few allies in case I get pushed into opposing Marie and her reverse-harem more directly."

I'll see what I can find out about them.

"You're the best, Control!" I said before opening up the window for them to fly out of.

I talked to Olivia about my intention to invite Angelica to a Tea Party when we had a chance to have lunch together again. She was about to bite into a piece of fruit when I brought up my plan.

"Miss Angelica? So you want to have a Tea Party with her?" Wow, Olivia. No need to say it in a tone that makes it sound like you think I was stupid and crazy.

"Actually," I quickly stated when I noted the way she asked that question. "I wanted to know if you would join us too."

"Me? Why? Wouldn't it be better if it was just the two of you?" She asked me, both looking and sounding frustrated at the request. Uh-oh, I better head this off.

"It would actually work out better if you were there." I began explaining. "I'm not inviting Angelica because of any romantic intention."

That seemed to calm her down but she still looked pretty confused. "Really? Then why?"

"You've heard about what's been happening between her, Prince Julius, and Marie?" Olivia nodded and looked pretty sad about it. What a nice girl. "Well, I decided that she probably needed a place to relax or even get some things off her chest."

"And you think a Tea Party would help?" She asked, face brightening as she probably saw where I was going with this.

"Yep, and having you there would keep her from thinking that I had more nefarious objectives." I continued and wiggled my fingers at Olivia when I said 'nefarious', making her giggle.

"Then you just want to help Miss Angelica." She placed a hand on her chest as she said that, sounding relieved. She seemed pretty concerned for Angelica's wellbeing.

"Why not? It's not like anyone else has been accepting my invitations." I flatly said while looking to the side, lamenting my current failure at attracting a bride. I looked back to Olivia and saw her staring at me in silence.

I was about to ask her if she was okay when she suddenly responded. "Okay, I'll do it."

Score! I clapped and suddenly felt a weight lift off my shoulders."That's great!"

"If you want, I can even deliver the invitation for you directly." She offered with a gentle smile and a surprising tone of confidence.

"Wait, are you sure?" I cautiously asked. The last thing we needed was Angelica and Olivia clashing because she tried to force an invitation. "You'd need to get past her followers to do that."

"I'll be fine! I promise!" I could only nod and accept the help. I guess I would just need to trust in Olivia's Otome protagonist charisma.

Control managed to identify Jilk as the only other love interest with a betrothed who was available. A third-year named Clarice Fia Atlee, the daughter of an Earl so her family was no joke. Control had been getting conflicting information about her though. They overheard some higher years talking about her as someone kind and friendly. However, when they actually went to see what she was like, Clarice had the look and attitude of a delinquent-type student instead. Even the people she surrounded herself with looked like trouble.

I still think it would be worth the attempt to invite her.

I agreed with Control and sent out an invitation to Clarice, scheduled a week after the Tea Party with Angelica. Worst thing that could happen was that she declines. Actually, no. The worst thing would be if both her and Angelica declined my invitations.

A few days later, I got everything ready for my new Tea Party and even dug a bit into my remaining treasure to make sure I had top of the line stuff. Unfortunately, due to some scheduling issues, I ended up hosting both Angelica and Clarice at the same time. The senior just up and barged into the room and declared that she only had today available.

I started serving tea after everyone was introduced, Olivia looked concerned while Angelica looked annoyed when Clarice showed up. The older girl didn't seem to care about either of them.

"Thank you for still attending even though our original schedule was not workable for you." I said to Clarice as she sampled my tea.

"Well, I was intrigued at the first-year who had the guts to actually invite me to a Tea Party. I got even more interested after I found out more about you, mister Provisional Baron." She responded with a cocky smirk.

In contrast to her attitude, Angelica and Olivia were completely silent and were just staring at their drinks. The tension in the air was palpable.

I was wrong.

This was the worst that could happen.

Why couldn't things just work out the way you planned it?! That's what planning is for!

 

[Blackraptor]

Well, the Tea Party certainly could have started on a better foot. Stuck between the daughter of a Duke and the daughter of an Earl, I needed to find a way to diffuse the situation.

Sadly, the good times continued to roll as Clarice gave me a saucy smile. "So how are you going to try to seduce me, Leon~?"

I was dumbstruck by her forwardness and couldn't respond for a couple of seconds. The initiative was taken from me when both Olivia and Angelica set their teacups back down on their respective saucers with more force than was strictly necessary. Watch it! Those are really expensive!

I looked between the two girls and saw Angelica looking at Clarice with annoyance while Olivia looked at me blankly. Please stop looking at me like that Olivia, you're being scary again!

"Please just stop, Clarice." Angelica addressed our senior in a surprisingly pained voice. The girl in question actually flinched just a bit but quickly put up an amused expression.

"Hey now. I'm just trying to see what kind of fun Leon here has in store for me." Clarice tried to tease me, but her tone wasn't nearly as convincing as it was earlier.

"Leon and Olivia don't know you personally. So please, at least in front of me, drop the act." The third-year girl suddenly shut up and winced at Angelica's words.

"I guess I'm still not good enough to fool you, Angie." Clarice weakly laughed, her entire demeanor and posture changed right before our eyes. To my surprise, she then looked at me and actually looked genuinely apologetic. "I'm sorry about putting you through that, Leon. I've just been trying something new."

"Wait, Miss Angelica and Miss Clarice know each other?" Olivia voiced the question in both of our heads. My eyes widened when it lined up for me in my head.

My right palm met my forehead when I finally understood. "Of course they know each other, their fiancées are best friends."

Clarice giggled and explained their relationship. "Yep. Angie and I have been friends for years now. Though, I haven't been able to keep in touch as much as I would have wanted to."

Angie huh? They must be close if she's using a cute nickname. "I understand. We both have our respective responsibilities "

"You know what? I'll take it." I stated with a nod, glad that things didn't escalate. "Once again, thank you both for attending my Tea Party. I am Leon Fou Bartfort."

I then gestured to Olivia. "This is Olivia, she is attending in order to prevent any rumors that I'm trying to seduce either of you ladies."

"Miss Angelica and I are already acquainted, but it is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Clarice." Olivia took the cue and smoothly introduced herself to Clarice without ignoring Angelica. Nicely done.

Clarice's eyes shone and she enveloped Olivia in a hug, making the girl squeak. "You are just precious! I'm happy to meet you too!"

My friend looked at me in panic. She was well versed in dealing with anger and ridicule from nobles, but blatant affection was probably something completely new to her. I just shrugged and noticed that Angelica was looking at the scene with a fond smile. After Clarice got her fill of embracing Olivia, the four of us settled down to actually start enjoying the tea and snacks I had prepared.

"So about earlier…" I smoothly broached the topic. Olivia, Angelica, and I turned to Clarice in obvious curiosity about her behavior.

She looked bashful at the attention, Jilk sure was a lucky man. No, wait. He was going to trade in Clarice for Marie, wasn't he? Nevermind, he's a moron.

"Ah, do you want the long version or the short version?" She asked with an awkward chuckle.

"Whichever one would be easier for you to share."

"Leon already mentioned it before, but I am Jilk Fia Marmoria's fiancée." Clarice started, more for Olivia's benefit. "I have been hearing some rather strange rumors surrounding Prince Julius and his circle of close friends. Among them is that Jilk has been seen being uncharacteristically close to another first-year. A girl named Marie Fou Lafan."

As expected, that immediately got Angelica's attention.

"I tried to call for Jilk in order to get his side of his story, but he has been refusing to meet with me. He cites that his duties with Prince Julius are keeping him busy, but the rumors have not been abating." I blinked as Clarice's tone became more harried. "One of my classmates suggested that men would notice and be concerned about drastic changes in a girl they cared about. They said that changing the way I looked and acted might get his attention enough to have him talk to me."

"Did it work?" Olivia asked hopefully.

"It's still a work in progress." Clarice easily admitted. "Besides, Angie was able to see right through me immediately! I need more practice on being a delinquent."

She then looked between the rest of us and realized something. "Actually, this is a great opportunity to get some real answers. The three of you have heard the rumors as well, right? Do any of you…know…anything?"

She became more and more uncertain as she spoke when she noticed our respective looks of discomfort.

It didn't look like either Olivia or Angelica would be able to explain things well, so I decided to bite the bullet. "Do you want the long version or the short version?"

What followed was me trying to explain the current situation between Marie and the love interests in the context of someone paying attention to the rumors. Clarice was very skeptical of the whole thing until Angelica started talking about her own experience with the matter. I also expressed that both my sister and I didn't believe that Angelica was the one who ordered Marie's bullying, something that took the girl in question by surprise.

"There has to be a more logical explanation for this, yes?" Clarice asked, sounding more like out of desperation than anything else. "I mean, Prince Julius and his entire entourage? That just sounds absurd."

"If there was, I would like to hear the explanation as well." Angelica coldly muttered.

Yep, definitely time for a break. I clapped my hands to get everyone's attention. "Instead of dwelling on that for too much, I would like the opinion of you three ladies on a new tea I've been working on."

I proceeded to serve some Honey Lemon tea. They were a bit apprehensive when I told them about the ingredients, but Olivia took a chance first and noted how nice it tasted. Angelica and Clarice soon followed and were pleasantly surprised that such a simple recipe would taste so good.

"I apologize. This probably isn't what you were expecting when you invited us for a Tea Party." Angelica said as I went around to refill everyone's cups.

"Actually, that is exactly why I invited the two of you here." I responded with a grin. Both Angelica and Clarice looked at me in surprise and incomprehension.

"Leon was worried about how all of these events might be affecting you, so he wanted to give both of you a place to relax and vent out your problems." Olivia helpfully provided as I busied myself in getting more snacks for them.

"You did this…for us?" Angelica asked, looking at me like it was the first time she actually saw me. Weird, but okay.

I stood up straight, chin up, and exuded as much gentlemanly pride as I could. "I've sworn to only use my skill at hosting Tea Parties for good."

That got a good laugh from all three girls. This is the kind of Tea Party experience I had yearned for since the beginning. Why couldn't I meet girls as nice as the three I was with?

"You are a very strange man, Leon."

I shrugged at the third-year's comment. "You're not the first to say that, Clarice. You probably won't be the last."

That got another laugh.

The Tea Party went on a more lighthearted tone afterwards. Clarice and Angelica reminisced about fun times they spent together, with Olivia hanging on every word. The two of them also bonded over complaining and making fun of their respective fiancées.

I then let slip that Prince Julius and Jilk were idiots for neglecting the two of them.

"We appreciate what you have done for us and in the intent behind your words, but please refrain from insulting the men we love in front of us." Clarice stated apologetically, Angelica nodding along beside her.

Man, Julius and Jilk really don't deserve either of them.

Thankfully, both of them quickly forgave me for my indiscretion when I apologized and the three girls went back to talking about things that mostly went over my head. Even here, Girl Talk was indecipherable to me. I was honestly just happy to be there.

"So, can Angie and I expect more Tea Party invitations in the future?" Clarice asked jokingly as the Tea Party came to an end. I responded by jokingly clutching my heart in concern.

"As long as you don't drink me out of house and home, I'll see what I can do." I overdramatically delivered, getting a few more giggles.

"You're a very lucky girl, Olivia." Angelica commented but noticed our clueless expressions. "I mean, aren't the two of you a couple?"

Uh-oh, time to head this off. "We're friends."

Clarice and Angelica turned to Olivia for confirmation and she nodded with a smile. Whew! Misunderstanding averted! The two girls glanced at each other but didn't comment any further.

"Well, I'm glad I accepted your invitation, Leon. You have been nothing but a perfect gentleman." Clarice started speaking in a more formalized tone after Olivia and I escorted her and Angelica out the door and into the hallway "And you are just a lovely conversationalist, Olivia."

"Indeed, it was most enjoyable. Thank you both." Angelica added. I then noticed what they were doing when the students nearby started whispering to each other and pointing at us.

"It was a pleasure." I responded, with Olivia giving a smile and a wave. Hopefully, this will help with our reputation. Angelica's status among the first-year students may have been questionable, but Clarice was likely still highly regarded. I just hoped that she would drop the delinquent act after today.

"Well, I'll count that as a success." I declared in relief as Olivia and I went back into the room to clean up.

"Right! They both looked a lot happier now." She easily agreed. I wasn't sure if she had realized it, but Olivia probably just made a couple of pretty influential friends today.

"Hopefully, this will help Angelica cope with the whole Marie situation." That was the primary purpose of the whole Tea Party anyway. I wasn't sure if Control was actually in the room, but I made a mental note to tell them of our success later anyway. "She just needs to make sure that she stays calm and doesn't do anything drastic."

The days went by without any further major incident. Marie was still basking in her success, but at least Angelica hadn't blown up at her anymore. I was also correct in my guess that both Angelica and Clarice had taken a liking to Olivia. They even sponsored the dress that she was going to wear to the end-of-term party. Olivia protested of course, but that didn't stop the two noblewomen from getting her a pretty teal dress that tastefully highlighted her curves without exposing too much skin.

The party finally happened and I was happy to let Olivia spend it with Angelica. The two of them quickly became close and it showed. I had tried to take the opportunity the party presented to help out Raymond and Daniel get the attention of some of the girls, but we crashed and burned for being from what they called insignificant houses. I gave up at that point and seriously told them to try to look for girls in the higher years instead, something they admitted that they never even considered. I prayed that my friends would genuinely find better luck on that front.

We were about to go and get something to eat when Olivia suddenly ran up and grabbed my hand.

"Leon! You have to come quick!" I quickly deliberated the urgency and panic in her voice as well as who she was supposed to be with in the party.

"Angelica didn't stay calm and did something drastic, didn't she?" Olivia grimaced and gave a pained nod. "Of course she did."

I followed behind Olivia, with Daniel and Raymond tagging along as well, and ended up witnessing a scene that I had been dreading.

Julius and the other love interests standing protectively in front of Marie, who was just wearing her school uniform for some reason. She was also being held steady by a blonde haired blue eyed elf servant, probably one Julius got her. A frustrated looking Angelica wearing a red dress that was perfect for her stood a short distance in front of them.

And clutched in Marie's hands was a white glove, one that matched the singular one Angelica was still wearing.

Fuck! This was what Control and I wanted to avoid in the first place! Had we underestimated how mad Angelica can get? Did Marie trigger her on purpose? Dammit! I got too complacent because of the days leading up to the party and because Olivia was with her!

I glanced at a very worried looking Olivia and quickly whispered. "Give me a summary."

"I don't know what happened, she was fine earlier. She walked up and talked to Prince Julius. The next thing I knew, he and his friends started arguing about which one loves Marie the most. Angie got really mad and threw her glove at Marie, challenged her to a duel, and now–" Olivia's voice strained and had to take a few seconds to catch her breath. "She's all alone."

We watched Angelica, daughter of a Duke and the woman who was supposed to become the next Queen, look around for anyone who would stand at her side and found no one.

I knew what that feeling was like too.

I took a deep breath and set my game face on.

"Not while I'm here." I hissed before starting forward.

"Leon, what are you doing?" Raymond asked in alarm, grabbing my arm.

"Something crazy and stupid." I grit out and pulled myself free. Everyone was completely silent as they saw me walk up and stand next to Angelica.

The girl herself simply whispered when she found her voice. "Leon? But why?"

"I am a very strange man." I joked, echoing Clarice's words from our Tea Party. Angelica stared at me in shock before breaking out in a grateful smile.

"Thank you." I returned her smile and gave a thumbs-up. Turning back to the reverse-harem, who were regarding me with various expressions of surprise. I wasn't sure if they remembered me from the dungeon thing, but I didn't really care either way.

"My name is Leon Fou Bartfort. I put myself forward as Angelica Rapha Redgrave's Champion." I confidently stated while taking a step forward.

Angelica stepped forward so we were once again side by side. "I accept Leon Fou Bartfort as my Champion."

"Hey now, are you sure about this?" Brad asked me with barely concealed mirth. "I heard of your name before, an adventurer who became a Baron. An up and comer like you should have better sense in picking their allies."

Those words made the others regard me with a bit more seriousness, while Marie was looking at me with barely concealed shock. Didn't expect this, did you?

"Name your terms, Angelica." I stated without breaking eye contact with Marie. Prince Julius seemed to notice and moved his body to block my sight of her.

"I simply wish for Marie to stay away from the prince." Pretty much the same as in the game. I ignored the whispers and jeers from the peanut gallery.

I nodded and craned my head to try to get a look at Marie. "And you, Marie? What do you want out of this?"

"How dare you, Angelica." Instead, Prince Julius answered while glaring at his fiancée. "Your attempts in separating me from Marie will end in failure. My heart will never be yours."

I saw Angelica trembling from the corner of my vision and decided that I was going to leave the prince for last. I mirrored his earlier move and stepped in front of Angelica so the two of us were looking directly at each other.

"What are your terms, Marie?" I repeated in a much lower voice. I heard Olivia walking up and whispering to Angelica but kept my eyes right at Julius'.

After several seconds, Marie finally spoke up. "If I win, I don't want you to do cruel things like this anymore. I don't think it's right to wield your house's influence like a weapon and force others to do your bidding"

I couldn't help but scoff, making the reverse-harem collectively glare at me. Not only did I know that Angelica didn't use her influence as a weapon, I also knew that Marie just copied what the main protagonist of the game would have said in the same event.

Marie wasn't just a knockoff. She was a short, flat, knockoff.

"Just to summarize." I began, making sure not to let any of those idiots take control of the conversation. "If Angelica wins, Marie breaks off from the prince. If you win, Angelica leaves you alone. I assume we'll settle this via Armor combat?"

Chris looked like he was about to jump me but seemed to settle on talking instead. "Do you not have even the slightest awareness of the disparity in power between us?"

"I appreciate the concern, but I know exactly how outmatched this fight is." I replied while giving him the fakest smile I could do.

Greg then actually stepped forward and got right up to my face. "Stop trying to act tough just because you're an adventurer. Do yourself a favor and give up. You don't stand a chance."

I raised a brow at him. "If I really don't stand a chance, then you shouldn't be worried at all."

"We will settle this with one-on-one Armor combat." Jilk intervened before Greg could do anything stupid. "We shouldn't have an issue securing an arena. However, since there will be five of us, we will allow you to try to find other participants."

I originally would have been fine with one-on-ones, but the way Julius broke Angelica's heart earlier made me a little bit more vindictive. I wanted to make a statement. I wanted them to remember what was going to happen.

"Actually, I'll be fighting alone. In fact, I want to fight all five of you at once." The entire room erupted at my declaration. I could feel Angelica and Olivia trying to pull me away and saying things in a panic.

I couldn't understand what any of them were saying. The only thing in my sight was the five love interests that hurt my friend. I bared my teeth in a grin as they flashed looks of uncertainty.

Julius was the one who recovered first and spoke. "Then I hope you are ready for this. Even with all your accomplishments, you will never be able to overcome the five of us. Not when we fight for the sake of love."

I hated how my plans didn't pan out the way I wanted to. But as I felt the blood pumping in my veins and felt a kind of rush I had never felt before in my life, I knew one thing.

I'll at least be able to take out my frustrations on five idiots.

 

[Blackraptor]

"--eon!" I blinked at the voice. "Leon!"

My eyes focused and beheld a very worried looking Olivia cupping my cheeks. This was a somewhat familiar situation. I glanced around and saw that Angelica, Daniel, and Raymond were there too. They looked concerned as well. Weird, but okay.

"Hey guys, is the party over?" They all blinked at my question before sighing in relief.

"This isn't the time for your jokes, Leon. You had us all pretty scared there." Daniel scolded me after Olivia finally let go of my face.

I blinked at what he said. "What do you mean, I just volunteered to be Angelica's champion."

"Leon," Raymond spoke slowly. "You just challenged the Prince and his entourage to a five-on-one Armor battle."

"Yeah, that way I can take them all on for once." I pointed out. Why was everyone looking at me like I lost my mind?

"Maybe he just needs some sleep?" Raymond asked the others, who all looked skeptical.

"Leon, I'd like to thank you again for standing up for me." Angelica eventually spoke out. Finally, a conversation that actually made sense!

Still had no idea why everyone was so spooked.

"You're welcome, Angelica. I wasn't about to just let them walk all over you like that. Besides, Olivia would never let me hear the end of it if I didn't help." I joked, earning a light slap on my arm from Olivia and a giggle from Angelica.

"I believe it would be good if we all retired for the night." Angelica suggested and we all agreed. I was about to start walking when I felt Olivia tug on my sleeve.

"Leon, can I talk to you for a bit before we leave?" She asked. I nodded in agreement and we both waved for the others to go on without us. The decision ended up giving me the pretty amusing image of Raymond and Daniel trying to have a conversation with Angelica as they walked away.

"You're still Leon, right?" Okay, that was a very strange thing to lead with.

"I don't understand the question." I easily admitted, getting a bit worried about how worried everyone else seems to be about me.

"The light." Olivia said, squinting her eyes in thought. "When you went up to stand at Angie's side, the light started changing."

"It was still a green light, but a deeper color. Angier. Scarier. It wasn't gentle or soothing anymore. It felt like it just wanted to hurt." Okay, now I was officially within the realm of worrying.

"Then your expression changed and you wouldn't listen to me or Angie no matter how much we tried to reach out to you." Like, I just bought a house in the middle of worry-town. The hell were the Getter Rays doing to me?! "The party eventually ended and you only snapped out of whatever that was just now."

"Thanks for telling me this, Olivia. How is the light now? Did it go back to normal." I spoke, trying my best to not sound like I was terrified of what might be happening to me.

"It's settling down, it looks like. It doesn't feel as scary anymore." Olivia answered while lightly placing her hand on my chest. "Are you going to be okay, Leon?"

I put the feeling of her hand on me out of my head, I had more immediate things to deal with. "I'll see what I can do about it. You should probably get some sleep."

Olivia looked like she wanted to say something else, but eventually nodded.

"How much of that whole thing did you witness, Control?" I asked my empty room as soon as I locked the door. Control turned visible a few feet in front of me before speaking.

The entirety of the party.

I nodded, at least I didn't have to explain much. "And you heard what Olivia said? Is this the Getter Rays messing with me?"

I had not anticipated that the changes in you to be so drastic in such a short time, I apologize for not paying more attention.

So they did know something after all. Good, that should help! "So what is all this? What is happening to me?"

The Getter Rays you have been exposed to have been facilitating changes within you. As an example, you have been relying less and less on vitriol as a defense mechanism for your insecurities.

The hell was Control talking about? I haven't been…okay, maybe they had a point. But still! "So I'm changing? Is my body going to start glowing visibly too?"

That would require an amount of Getter Radiation that would be beyond what Black Getter F is capable of generating.

"So just the way I think then? It's been brainwashing me?! Why didn't you tell me?!" I started to panic, Control's answers had not been giving me confidence that what was happening to me was a good thing. I could feel my blood pumping hard again, but I shut my eyes and forced myself to calm down.

Your alarm is understandable. As I said, I had expected the changes to be more gradual. To have you slowly gain more real confidence and let people into your life more organically.

"Then what's causing it?" I asked the obvious question after taking a few breaths.

I believe that the lack of emotional attachments you have experienced in your prior life has amplified your bonds with the people around you in this life. You, as a person, found something you never thought you needed and did not want anything to happen to it. As such, you may be more vulnerable to emotional outbursts if they are threatened. This may explain your earlier behavior.

Sounded like a whole lot of psychoanalysis mumbo-jumbo but it seemed to make sense. "But you're not sure?"

I lack enough data points to make a satisfying conclusion.

"Then what? I just wait? I don't want to suddenly wake up and not even realize that I'm not the person I was when I went to sleep, Control! I don't want to lose the person I am!" The prospect of suddenly becoming a completely different person terrified me. Would I even like the things I liked? What about the things I hated?

Why?

The question made my mind suddenly slam to a halt. "What?"

Did you even like the person that you were before you reincarnated? Do you like the person that you were before you found me?

For the very first time since we met, I felt like I hated Control at that very moment. My face twisted into a snarl but they interrupted the response forming in my mind.

And before you say 'yes', think carefully if that really is the case or if it is because of fear or pride. That you don't want to admit that you wasted so much time being someone you didn't even want to be.

The implication actually did make me stop and think. About my old life, my childhood, my family, my friends–or lack thereof, my school years, my time as an office worker. Did I enjoy the life I had? Did I regret it? Was I even happy?

Was I just going to end up doing the same thing all over again if I hadn't met Control? I was, wasn't I?

"Then what the hell is even the right answer?" I muttered as I stumbled back onto my bed.

It is an everlasting dilemma that a person needs to tackle. Do I stay true to myself? Do I change? Which one is the correct answer?

Was I a coward for not doing anything to change the way I was? Was I brave for sticking to my personal beliefs? Did any of it even matter?

Getter Rays are fundamentally an agent of change. It encourages it and facilitates it. It will force you to become a version of yourself that is more than what you currently are, for better or worse.

Of course, because people could definitely change into worse people. Even I could admit that most of the noblewomen didn't start out as horrible people. Even the love interests that I wanted to stomp into the ground probably weren't always like that.

You need not fear change, Leon. People change all the time. It is an incredible gift that humanity has. After all my time before I was put to slumber, I have come to understand countless different reasons why humans change. I am envious that it is something I cannot do.

"Don't underestimate Getter Rays, Control. They know where you live. You might already be changing without realizing it." Control actually went silent for a few seconds when I told them that.

Fair point.

I took a deep breath and considered something. "And if I don't want the kind of changes it's pushing onto me?"

Then you must become strong enough to make it understand that you are satisfied with who you are or that you will change on your own terms.

"That sounds like a pretty tall order." I pointed out with a chuckle. Sure, just tell the weird all-powerful energy source that you don't agree with it.

Getter Pilots are rarely alone when they face this dilemma. They usually operate as a team of three, working together and overcoming challenges together.

I groaned, of course it would be something like that. "Just my luck that I'm alone huh? Except for you, I mean."

I wouldn't say that. You also have your family, Olivia, Angelica, Raymond, Daniel, even Clarice to an extent. If you feel like it becomes too much, you can always look back to them to remind you of why you are doing what you do.

"Really? Friendship and Love?" I asked with a bit of humor. The whole thing was starting to sound like a regular Shonen Manga story.

Very few things in the Universe are more powerful than that.

"You're serious?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing from the AI.

Would it really be such a stretch to believe so?

Dammit, they were right. "When you put it like that, no."

I decided that the heavy existential talk could be put on hold and I prepared to sleep. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I suddenly felt so exhausted. As I closed my eyes and drifted off, an idle thought crossed my mind.

Getter Change, huh?

Oddly enough, Angelica asked to meet me privately the day after the party. Olivia said that she wanted to discuss some specifics about the duel and even asked for a private room from the school. When I entered, it looked like some kind of lounge with a couple of couches facing each other as well as chairs surrounding a coffee table.

Angelica saw me enter and smiled. "Leon, thank you for coming. Please take a seat."

She gestured to the couch across from her and I strangely felt like I was a kid about to be scolded by a teacher. No. Stop brain, I'm warning you. I didn't mean it that way. Don't put imaginary Angelica in a tight pencil skirt.

No, brain! Don't take the skirt off imaginary Angelica!

"Leon?"

"Yes! How can I help you? It wasn't my fault! I'm sorry!" Angelica looked at me in surprise and a bit of worry. I scratched my head and glanced away. "I didn't get as much sleep as I wanted."

"I see?" She said unconvincingly.

"So what did you want to talk about? Strategy or something?" I sat down and rubbed my hands in anticipation. I already knew what each of the love interests' Armors are capable of but any additional input couldn't hurt.

"I would like you to back down from the duel." I blinked at Angelica's serious words.

I blinked again when she just looked at me with a determined expression. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I may have misheard."

"I'm sorry." She said with a sigh, her shoulders slumping as she continued. "After sleeping on it, I now understand that my rashness and anger put you in a situation that might put your future in jeopardy."

"Hey now–" I started but suddenly recalled what Jenna told me a while back. Get to Julius' good side and I was set. Oppose him and I was going to suffer for it.

"I will bear the responsibility for the loss. I cannot, in good conscience, allow someone as promising as you to perform what is basically political suicide for my sake." She said, her concern was blatantly obvious.

"I'm not backing down." I told her with narrowed eyes.

"What?! Why?! You have to! Your entire future would be in peril if you continue with this!" I leaned back when Angelica actually stood up when she said that.

I shook my head and frowned at her words. "What about your future?"

"I will face the consequences of my actions with dignity." I knew what the consequences of her actions were. She would be disowned and banished, forced to marry a nameless old noble and live miserably for the rest of her life.

"I'll still fight for you, Angelica." I insisted.

"Why?" She looked so sad when she asked me that I felt my heart clench a bit.

I looked up to the ceiling for a way to convey my thoughts. I then chuckled when I remembered a line from a half-forgotten movie I watched a lifetime ago.

"I know what it's like." I began as I turned my head down to look at her in the eye. "To know so desperately that you're right, yet fail anyway."

Angelica looked like she couldn't comprehend what I was saying at all. "So that's it? Sympathy? Risking it all for that?"

"I'd like to say that it's more that I'm helping out a friend who is having a really bad few months." I said with an awkward smile.

Angelica choked back a sob but couldn't stop her eyes from misting. "Then I am in your debt."

"Friends don't keep score like that, Angelica." I lightly said with a chuckle before she cut me off from saying anything else.

"Angie. It's what my friends call me." I looked at her in surprise. Well, Clarice and Olivia did call her that. "I'll be in your care then, Leon."

"I'll do my best, Angie." She excused herself soon after and I was left alone in the room. Well, not alone.

So we are fully committed to supporting Angelica then.

"Agile thinking, Control." I reminded the AI as I stood up to stretch my back. "How easily can you get Black Getter here from the Nagare?"

Trivially. Are you planning on making another memorable entrance?

"You know it."

A few days before the date of the duel, I walked into my room and found it completely messed up. Furniture was thrown around and even my sheets looked like they had been shredded by a knife.

"I can't say that I didn't expect this." I muttered, knowing that people in the Academy have been bullied for less. Must have been supporters of Julius and his boys, maybe even Marie's.

I have a video recording of the event. It seemed that even Daniel and Raymond were pressured to participate in the vandalism.

Control proceeded to project the scene in question. I gasped when I saw what my friends did.

"How dare they lightly knock over my chairs! Don't they know how inconvenient it is to put them back in place?!" I declared with full, legitimate, totally-not-put-on, indignation.

You seem to think lightly of the event.

"I'm more relieved that they weren't hurt for being my friends, frankly." I pointed out in a more normal voice as I righted the chairs that Daniel and Raymond knocked over. I was taking off the ruined sheets from my bed when Jenna suddenly barged into my room with her catboy. Without knocking? Rude.

"Leon! What did I hear about you cha–the fu–" Jenna's ramblings cut short as soon as she took in the state of my room. "Don't tell me you actually challenged Prince Julius and his entire entourage to an Armor battle."

"Okay, I won't tell you." I immediately said right before Jenna grabbed me by the front of my uniform.

"This is what I was warning you about! What kind of moron are you?" She yelled at me, her catboy taking in the damaged state of the room.

"What kinds are the–" My older sister cut me off by shaking me. Was she always this strong? Or was she just mad enough?

"No jokes! This doesn't just affect you, Leon. It affects our entire family!" I was yelled at some more. She turned to her slave and gave a surprising order. "Clean this room up, now!"

"Jenna, I'm going to be an Independent Knight. My actions don't actually reflect the political stance of the Bartfort household." I reminded her as the catboy went out of the room. Where was he going?

"Do you honestly think the other high lords will care?" Jenna countered before adding, "And to an Armor battle?! Are you insane?!"

I raised my eyebrow at her alarm. "Jenna, you've seen Black Getter. Do you honestly think I'd lose?"

"It doesn't matter if you win using that monstrosity of yours. All they will see is that a Bartfort dared to challenge the heirs! Our family can't stand up to that!" Ah, I understood her concern now. From an outside perspective, that would have been the case if they didn't know more about me huh?

"Would it help if I told everyone that I'm doing it to protect the dignity of Angelica Rapha Redgave and Clarice Fia Atlee?" I offered with a smile just as her slave–what was his name again?–returned with a big plastic bag, a broom, and a dust pan.

"What are you talking about?" My declaration made Jenna pause and I proceeded to tell her what actually happened during the party.

"ALL FIVE OF THEM?!" I winced as she expressed her shock. Was she talking about Marie seducing all five heirs or me wanting to fight all five at once? The answer was 'yes'.

"So yeah, if I beg the Atlee and Redgrave families for political support, I might just get out of this in one piece." I laid out my plan for the fallout in case people got particularly mad at the outcome.

Jenna let me go but proceeded to pace around the room as her catboy continued to sweep the floor. I should really thank him. "Using what money?! The kind of tribute you'd need for that is more than what you can afford right now! You put all your money into our family lands."

"Actually, this is something you'll be happy to know about." I felt giddy when I overheard this talk from a few of the students. "People are going to be betting on the fight. The odds are delectable."

Jenna's face went from being blank to a grin that mirrored my own. For the first time in our lives, my older sister and I connected on a spiritual level.

 

[Blackraptor]

Spoiler: The GM is the original relative size of the Armors while the Barbatos is the one for this story

I upped the size of Armors for purely aesthetic reasons.

I have to admit, the anime scaling of the Armors is just early Evangelion levels of hilarity.

 

[Blackraptor]

I finished changing into my pilot suit and did a few stretches. It was the end of term. It was also the day of the duel with the love interests and I was about as ready as I could be. Jenna and I made a big public fuss about betting on my victory so more people would know about it and got suckered into what they thought was going to be an easy payout. I also had Jenna inform Daniel and Raymond to bet on me for the duel. I couldn't risk putting them in the crosshairs of their peers again by approaching them myself, so I had her do it.

Hopefully, the winnings would help with their financial woes and make it easier for them to host Tea Parties. To my utter shock, Daniel actually discreetly sent a letter to me, asking if it was fine if he invited Jenna to a Tea Party. The only content of my reply was that he better be ready to walk into hell if he did that.

I didn't know if he was actually dissuaded by my words or not.

Black Getter F has arrived and is on standby in the upper stratosphere. I can have it land in the arena at any time.

"Actually, wasn't Black Getter inside the Nagare?" I asked Control. Black Getter was just too big, nearly three times the size of a regular Armor, to be stored in the available warehouses for students. I would have needed to pay the school to rent out the extra space to park it, so I didn't have a choice but to keep it on the ship.

Correct.

"And I'm pretty sure you left the Nagare back at the lab after you delivered my pilot suit and tomahawks to my family, right?" I continued my questioning while doing some squats to warm up.

That is also correct.

"How long did it take for it to arrive here from there?"

Eighteen minutes and seventeen seconds.

"That fast?!" I asked, my head whipping to where Control was floating.

Do not underestimate a Getter's speed when it does not have to factor in the pilot's wellbeing.

Scary. Cool, but scary. "Right, then we'll go with what we planned. Just have Black Getter swoop down when I give the signal."

Acknowledged.

Control went invisible when I made for the door of the changing room. Upon opening it, I was surprised to see Olivia, Angelica, and Clarice there waiting for me. I had thought that they already secured their seats. The third-year looked like she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. I decided to give her a hand. "I'm here primarily for Angie's sake, but I can give Jilk an extra slap for you if you want."

She started to speak before her eyes narrowed and slowly turned her head to Angie. "So it's Angie now, huh~?"

"Leon is a friend." Angie spoke simply before turning to me. "I know that we already talked about this, but are you sure you want to do this, Leon?"

I gave her a look of complete and utter conviction. "Angie, the amount of money I have bet on myself is on the scale that I wouldn't back down even if the island we are on starts to fall."

"You bet on yourself? To win?" Clarice asked, her cheeks puffing up when I nodded. "Ahahahaha! I have honestly never met a young man as audacious as you!"

"Leon! Gambling is bad!" Olivia scolded me while poking my side. How cruel!

"Gambling is only bad civilization if you can't control yourself, Olivia." Lord knows I had rolled myself to despair several times in my gacha days.

"Livia." She muttered, looking embarrassed. "Everyone back home calls me that. Angie and Clarice already call me that too."

"Right, Livia it is then." I agreed with a nod. I then turned to our senior and tilted my head. "You don't happen to have a shockingly cute nickname you only give out to close friends, do you?"

Clarice blinked before she covered her mouth with her hand. "Sorry to disappoint, Leon. I'm just cute on my own."

Banter out of the way, we started walking towards the arena proper. I glanced back to Clarice before we got there. "You sure you don't want me to give Jilk any special treatment?"

"That is really sweet of you, but I'm quite mad at him right now as well." Clarice was smiling as she spoke, but it suddenly had a cruel edge as she continued. "Please do your best to show him what happens when a man does not provide proper care for his lady."

The four of us finally got to the arena proper and I beheld it in its entirety. It was like an old roman colosseum but the audience was protected by a magical barrier, just in case. I then spotted my opponents for the day. The five of them lined up at the opposite end, standing behind them were their respective Armors. I squinted at the ones they had and realized that I had made a grave mistake.

Chris' blue Armor was sleek and had minimal armoring. The large sword in its right hand belied its pilot's preference for mobility and striking quickly.

Greg's red Armor was rugged and had a more utilitarian design. It made sense as it was an old mass production model that had already been replaced. Like the pilot, it had a large spear as its weapon of choice.

Brad's purple Armor probably had the least amount of defense among them, despite its looks, as it was geared more to amplify his magical abilities. It had a drill-like spear in its hand as well as four more on its back, remote weapons as I recalled.

Jilk's green Armor was a step up in quality from the other three. It was well armored and had a magic rifle equipped. The most notable thing about it was the wing binders on its back, allowing the Armor superior mobility in the air.

Lastly, Julius' silver Armor was the most impressive looking one out of all of them. Well armored and wielding a well crafted sword and shield. Its power, speed, and defenses are all better than you would initially expect.

There was just one problem about them.

They were using the starter Armor models they had in the game! Of course they were! This duel event shouldn't even happen until the start of the third year in-game after they got their upgraded models and right before the final arc spun up!

"Is something wrong, Leon?" Livia snapped me from my thoughts. Angie was also looking at me in worry, though Clarice was also looking towards the other side of the arena and was being ignored by Jilk.

"I'm fine." I said with a nod before I started walking to the designated point that Control and I agreed on.

"Hang on! Where is your Armor?" Angie asked while looking around. "Was it not delivered on time?"

I waved off her concern and continued walking. "It'll be here. Just relax and enjoy the show."

I smiled at Julius and his boys as I got to my spot and crossed my arms. They looked at me in confusion and started glancing at each other. Julius took the initiative and addressed me. "I commend you for not forfeiting, Leon Fou Bartfort. However, I seem to notice that you don't have an Armor with you."

"Are you making fun of us? Of this duel?" He continued when I didn't respond. "I see that Angelica's champion suits her perfectly as he is also as duplicit–"

"Now." I stated, interrupting his rant. There was a sound like the air itself was being sliced before something large landed with paradoxical gentleness behind me. Whew! I'm glad Control didn't make Black Getter smash into the floor!

I couldn't keep the smile on my face as the love interests' gazes went up and up until they saw exactly what landed. I decided to finally respond. "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening. Could you repeat that please?"

That made them tear their eyes from Black Getter, who I was sure was also crossing its arms as Control and I agreed upon. Greg was the first one who recovered and indignantly pointed at the Getter Robo behind me. "What the hell is that?! It's too big to be an Armor!"

"Is that even an Armor?"

"Maybe it's a Lost Item?"

"It looks like a monster!"

"Why does it have a ratty looking cape?"

"How do you even get inside that thing?"

"Can it even move well?"

"Why did it drop from the sky but didn't crash?"

The audience seemed to be just as surprised by the whole thing as well from what I was hearing.

"Remember that I'm an adventurer who was given provisional Barony and Knighthood status? This is part of the reason why." I explained while jerking a thumb over my shoulder to indicate my machine.

"What even is it though?" Brad asked, sounding a bit more worried. "A Lost Item?"

"It has many meanings for many people." I began, turning back to look at Black Getter's impressive form. "To me, it was Salvation."

I then turned to where Angie, Livia, and Clarice were seated together. "To Angie, it's Hope."

"For you guys…" I continued, turning back to the love interests. "...Doom."

I immediately turned around and started walking to Black Getter, ignoring the protests I could hear from them. Control had Black Getter take a knee and reach out with a hand. I climbed onto its palm and it lifted me up to the head. I got into the cockpit and waited for the displays to light back up.

Your pre-battle banter requires improvement. You tried too hard to sound impressive and it robbed the moment of some of its gravity. You need to learn to speak from the heart in these situations.

"It's my first fight, Control! Give me a break!" I complained as the screens finished activating. I looked down and, wow, I really was a lot bigger than them huh? They're not even big enough to reach Black Getter's hips.

"This isn't fair! Using that Armor is cheating! Where is your honor?!" Chris complained to me. I had to chuckle at his insinuation.

"I told you, Chris. I know exactly how outmatched we are." I reminded him after turning on the external speakers. "Besides, this is a fight for honor. No one ever said anything about fighting with honor."

"This is still unfair!" He insisted and I had to sigh.

"There are five of you!" I pointed out, making him shut up. "If I came out here with a regular Armor, you all would have still jumped me!"

"Enough." Julius said after regaining his composure. "Let him fight in that overgrown Armor. All we need to do is fight it like it's a larger monster."

This seemed to bolster the confidence of the others as Jilk looked over Black Getter again and scoffed. "Of course, as expected of his highness. Such a cumbersome thing can likely only stumble around without the finesse of a true Armor."

With how the audience started laughing, it seemed like they bought into the narrative. I glanced around and saw Raymond and Daniel in the audience. They were sitting next to and speaking with Jenna, who was rolling her eyes and shaking her head as she responded to something Daniel said. Godspeed Daniel, you crazy bastard.

I would like to remind you that you have not logged any piloting hours since you arrived at the Academy. Expect that you will not be as effective as you had become when you first left.

"Right, I don't want to accidentally kill anyone." I said in agreement after making sure that the external speakers were off. "I guess I'll stick to the basic stuff, though I'd actually like to try something to compensate for the rust."

Do you have an idea?

"My movement might not be up to snuff anymore, so I might stumble and make an ass of myself if I did things the regular way." I admitted it easily enough. I had to find a way to be able to practice after I came back from summer break. "On the other hand…"

A fond smile formed on my face as I recalled an old memory. "...I did play a lot of Gundam Vs when I was in school on Earth."

…

Angelica Rapha Redgrave took another deep breath to steady her heart. Honestly! The brazenness of Leon's declaration was just too much! To say that his massive black Armor was her Hope was just...argh!

"Oh he is just priceless!" At least Clarice seemed amused about the whole thing.

"But why is everyone laughing at Leon's Armor?" Livia asked in confusion. Ah, of course she would not be educated in Armor combat.

"What Leon has is likely a Lost Item. Something so advanced that our civilization can no longer create anything like it. However, it does not adhere to the modern doctrine of smaller sizes and better mobility." Angelica explained. While it certainly looked very impressive, with its stature, horns, blades on its left arm, scarf, and cape, it did not give the impression that it was very mobile.

"Well I think it's adorable!" Both Clarice and Angelica turned to Livia's declaration. Cute? The Armor looked like a demon from a children's story! "It even has a cape and everything! Like a big plushie!"

"Please state your names Champions!" The referee's declaration made the three of them turn back to the arena proper.

"Leon Fou Bartfort." Leon's voice stated from within the massive armor.

"Brad Fou Field."

"Greg Fou Seberg."

"Chris Fia Arclight."

"Jilk Fia Marmoria."

"Julius Rapha Holfort." Angelica could feel her heart ache as Prince Julius ended the roll call for his group. She glanced past them and to Marie Fou Lafan, the one they all chose to protect. The girl that took Prince Julius away from her. The girl that took Jilk away from Clarice. She bit her lip as anger rose at the remembrance.

"The battle will be a five-on-one bout." The referee started to explain the rules. "It will continue until one side no longer has combatants. Causing a fatality will result in immediate disqualification for that side. The combat zone will be restricted to the arena itself."

"If there are no objections, you may begin!"

"Spread out! Surround his armor and hit from all sides!" Prince Julius quickly ordered and his group immediately obeyed. Jilk quickly took to the skies while Chris and Greg took to the flanks. The prince and Brad remained where they were, though Brad did deploy his remotely controlled spears.

Worry gripped her heart as Angelica watched. It was the correct strategy when facing a singular foe, a tactic that knights even used when facing large monsters. Leon's black Armor crouched down, arms to its side, it looked like it was getting ready to defend itself from its smaller opponents.

Angelica's eyes then widened when the massive thing hopped–HOPPED–a few feet in the air before nearly vanishing as it suddenly moved behind Greg's red Armor. The only reason why Angelica was even able to follow the movement was because of how the black cape trailed behind it.

"What?! How is it this fas–" Greg yelled out right as the still crouched Armor reared its left arm back.

"Getter Razor!" Leon yelled out right before the legs of Greg's Armor were sliced apart, the torso falling heavily onto the ground. The others quickly recovered from the shocking elimination and converged onto Leon. Jilk shot at the Armor while Brad sent out its flying spears. Her friend once again demonstrated a degree of mobility that his Armor should have been too big to have as it proceeded to evade the attacks using the same style of movement, even dodging between Chris' sword swing and a remotely controlled spear thrust.

"It's like a big black bunny!" Livia happily exclaimed from Angelica's side. She also chanced a glance at Clarice and saw her eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Getter Spike!"

"Aaaagh!" Leon's words and Brad's scream made her curse herself for not paying attention as the purple Armor crumpled onto the ground. Its head, right arm, and legs were crushed. The elongated spikes from the knuckles of Leon's Armor retracting as its yellow eyes, which Angelica just noticed had red pupils that actually looked around, settled on Chris' Armor next.

"I won't fall as easily as the others!" Chris bravely declared as he took on a defensive stance with his sword. Once again, Leon's Armor seemed to fly across the ground and went straight for the Arclight heir. Chris' armor raised its sword and swung down as Leon reached him. "Take this!"

Only for Leon to block the sword with the blades on his Armor's left arm. He then spun around and hit Chris' armor with the cape.

"Getter Wing!" The cape then proceeded to wrap around Chris' Armor before it lifted him up and slammed the Armor on the ground. Judging from the lack of movement, Angelica thought that Chris was likely knocked out from the force.

Leon's armor tilted its head to the side after Jilk finally landed a shot on its torso. It was completely ineffective. "Impossible! That was a special round that was designed to pierce through modern Armor alloys!"

Instead of replying, Leon's Armor just stood back up to its full imposing height.

To a completely silent arena.

"Two left." Leon declared. "Time for the three of us to have a serious chat about a couple of things."

Clarice and Angelica gasped and looked at each other when they both realized who remained.

Their fiancées.

Just what was Leon planning now?

 

[Blackraptor]

"Haa…haa…haa…ugh!" My lungs heaved as I took deep breaths to stop myself from throwing up. I had immediately turned off the external speakers after I made my declaration once I felt my stomach doing wall jumps.

Your chosen method of locomotion was quite inspired and extremely effective. Please make sure to use it in moderation in the future, the Getter Pilot Suit is not rated to prevent motion sickness.

"Urgh…noted." I swallowed some spit, thankful that neither idot decided to take advantage of my momentary sickness. "Urk…what, they scared or something?"

You were successful in eliminating the majority of their team in under a minute. They have good reason to be cautious of you. They may even think that your current immobility is some form of psychological warfare.

"They're giving me too much credit then. Man, I'll need some apple slices after this." I muttered before taking one more deep breath and switching the external speakers back on. "So, let's start with the easier one. Jilk, I have a question?"

"And why should I entertain anything that comes out of your mouth?" He asked just before taking another shot, this time at Black Getter's head. I didn't even bother to dodge. The round hit and exploded but, aside from some magic dust covering my screen for a bit, there was no other effect.

"The longer you keep me talking, the longer you keep yourself from getting crushed by me." Jilk and Julius were silent as I let the threat linger.

"Speak." Man, way to still sound so imperious even though you're the ones with your backs against the wall. Jilk was supposed to be the nice one too.

I spared at glance at where Clarice was sitting and saw her staring right at Black Getter's face, as if silently asking me what I was doing. "Why didn't you just up and tell Clarice that you had fallen in love with another woman and couldn't be with her anymore? Do you understand what she's been through since you kept avoiding her? She's been up the wall with uncertainty. Hell, she had to learn about it from other people."

That definitely wasn't what anyone expected me to ask as they went from silence to whispering to each other. I couldn't see Jilk but from the way his Armor was twitching, this was a surprise for him too. "She didn't need to know."

"The hell she didn't, she's your fiancée!" I immediately hiss back at him.

He countered by pointing a finger at me. "In the first place, this is none of your business!"

"She's a friend. With how close you and the others are, I'd think you'd understand sticking with your friends no matter what. You'd do the same for them, right?" The silence from him was telling. They were all idiots, but even I could admit that they were idiots who stood up and supported each other no matter what. It was almost admirable.

"I had hoped to spare her the pain of knowing." He said haltingly. "I had planned on breaking off our engagement during the summer break through a letter."

My eyes wandered back to Clarice and saw her crying on Angie's shoulder as she was being held by her two friends. Shit.

"Jilk." Huh, even Julius didn't sound onboard with that plan.

He didn't even flinch at the disappointed tone and just answered. "I am serious about Marie, your highness. Just as much as you and the others."

"So what, you just throw her away? Did you even care about her?" I said through gritted teeth, trying to keep my anger in check. Last thing I needed was for the Getter Rays to make me do something rash while I'm inside Black Getter.

"I do admit that I have a fondness for her, but the only woman I truly love is Marie. Not even threatening me with the monster you are in will make me change my mind." I guess that was it then. There was only one more thing to do.

"I want to add one more bet. Just between the two of us." I declared while pointing at Jilk's Armor. "Man-to-man."

"I am done entertaining any more of you–"

"If you're successful, then I'll surrender my Black Getter to you. It's yours, and I leave the Academy forever." That got everyone's attention as they all went silent. Aside from Jenna, who I could actually hear screaming at me from the stands.

"Wha–just like that? What kind of man are you?" Black Getter just shrugged at Julius' question.

"I've been told that I'm a pretty strange one. How about it Jilk?" I just echoed what Clarice called me and turned back to Jilk.

"What must be done?" He finally asked.

"You hit me, once. You win. I hit you once, I win." I laid it out. There was no way he'd pass that up considering how they should know that they couldn't beat me. It was an offer he couldn't refuse.

"And what do you get if you win our bet?" Oh yeah, I hadn't gone through that part huh?

"You stop being a coward, talk to Clarice privately, lay all your cards down. Even if you can't accept her love anymore, you can at least give her closure." I declared. Oh look, all the talking in the audience started up again.

"I was wrong about you, Leon. That you would go that far for a friend." Jilk actually started speaking with what I could kind of even consider as admiration. Felt really weird. "I still don't like you for standing against his highness, but I respect you as a man."

I just sighed at how I didn't even want his respect in the first place. I decided instead to turn to Julius. "You mind giving us the signal, your highness? This isn't exactly part of the regular rule set."

"...very well." He reluctantly agreed and moved his Armor to the side of the arena.

While I understand your desire to help Clarice in her time of need, I have to ask why you thought this would be an appropriate time to try to resolve the issue.

I muted the external speakers and rubbed my hands together.

"Think about it, Control. Most of the Higher Studies students in the Academy are in this arena. Jilk will have no choice but to abide by the condition I set, his pride won't allow anything less." I pointed out. With this many people as witnesses, his reputation would crash and burn if he flaked on this.

And you are certain that you will be successful? Betting Black Getter F was inadvisable.

"Don't worry, Control. I know Jilk's fighting style. I know exactly what he'll do at this range with the limitations of that Armor. I'll have to apologize in advance though."

Why?

"I'll need to do something stupid with Getter Wing." The sigh I heard from Control sounded like someone who had heard that sentence being said a few times before.

"Are both sides ready?" Julius asked after Jilk and I moved to equidistant parts of the arena. "BEGIN!"

As I had hoped, Jilk immediately threw a smoke grenade at me. I was already jumping back to avoid getting hit while it was in the air. By the time it landed and detonated, I had reached around behind Black Getter and swiftly ripped off its cape. I immediately threw it up in the air and over the smoke. I grinned when I saw a magic round hit it.

"A decoy?!" I was already bursting through the smoke by the time he realized his mistake. He was lowering his rifle, trying to get a bead on my Getter Robo. Too bad.

"Tomahawk!" I yelled out, grasping the handle that shot out of Black Getter's shoulder. "Boomerang!"

Jilk fired another shot but it hit the thrown tomahawk instead. It continued its trajectory and, because of how Jilk angled his Armor to shoot effectively, sliced off both of the Armor's arms. True to the name, the tomahawk looped back to Black Getter just as it slid to a stop in front of Jilk. Unfortunately, I still sucked at catching those things so it just sailed past Black Getter's shoulder and embedded itself on the ground. Black Getter's falling cape on the other hand was as easy as raising a hand and snatching it from midair

I then proceeded to hang it off the Getter's shoulder, held on by the same hand, because I didn't know how to reattach it.

If you wish for the Getter Wing to be reattached, please simply place it back on the back armor and I will initialize the reconnection process.

I gave Control two thumbs up and did as they suggested.

"Leon Fou Bartfort has won the wager." Julius declared and the crowd went nuts. At this point, I wasn't even sure for what reason anymore.

"I will abide by our agreement." Jilk said as his armor sat on its haunches.

"I know. Don't be an ass to her when you talk, Jilk." I warned while turning away from him and walking towards Jilius. "I'll know."

"So it comes down to us then." Julius declared as he readied his shield and pointed his sword at me. The crowd then started cheering for Julius to defeat me. They must have remembered all the money they had riding on this whole thing.

"We both know that you can't win." I pointed out as Julius stepped to the middle of the arena, right between me and the Getter Tomahawk that was still on the ground.

"Perhaps. But my love for Marie will see me through, regardless of the outcome." His Armor the charged right at me, shield forward and sword ready to strike. I sighed and Black Getter just zoomed behind him. I was about to punch him when blue flame-like wings erupted on the Armor's back. That's right, Julius' Armors all had the special ability to increase its performance for short bursts. It drains the energy like crazy but it has saved me a bunch of times in critical moments in the game.

Faster than any of the Armors I'd faced, it spun around and delivered an upward jumping slash that hit Black Getter right on the forehead. It didn't actually hurt the Getter Robo, but the crowd cheered on anyway. Julius ducked under the punch I still attempted and his Armor quickly jumped back, the wings on the back disappearing.

Julius and his Armor were definitely a cut above the rest. Made sense considering who he was.

"Tell me, have you ever truly loved someone, Leon?" The sudden question made me pause. That was pretty random, but okay.

"I'm assuming you mean romantically?" I clarified and received a nod. "Not really. Never really felt that way about anyone and no one has ever really given me the chance to try."

"Though, I do know a couple of girls who do." I couldn't resist the snipe.

Julius seemed to pick up what I was talking about and his Armor shook its head. "I cannot speak for Clarice, but Angelica does not love me. She is just the same as all the women in the court. They all see me as the crown prince, and not as who I am."

"How the hell are you so sure about that?!" I asked, getting impatient at how stubborn he was being.

"She claims that she loves me because that is what everyone has told her for years. She is expected to love me, conditioned by those around her. That is not real love." He began to ramble.

Julius continued and I could hear his frustration in his voice. "You have no idea what it is like. It's all the same! I've seen it play out over and over again my whole life! Why should she be any different?! Only Marie sees me as Julius and not the crown I am expected to wear!"

He laments the artificiality of the Royal Court. He might not even hate Angelica and only despises what he sees that she represents, another shackle. He likely feels like he does not have the right to choose.

"How can someone like you, who is free to live and love as you choose, can possibly understand how hard it has been?!" Dammit, man. I was just starting to sympathize with you and you just couldn't keep your mouth shut.

I grit my teeth but I couldn't hold in my anger anymore. "Hard? HARD?!"

"You want to know what's hard?! Being called a noble but being poor enough to have to do farmwork yourself! Being told that you'll be married off to an old hag so they can send you to the frontlines and collect the money from your death!" I started my own rant while pointing at Julius. "To be forced to risk your life on an impossible bet just to find the means to escape that hell."

"Don't you know how hard it's been for the rest of us? To be constantly compared to the five of you? To attempt Tea Parties to catch the attention of a girl only for them to insult your effort for not being good enough for them, if they even show up? To want so desperately for a girl to acknowledge your efforts and see you for who you are and not by what's written at the end of your name?" Black Getter stomped its foot and the ground broke beneath it. Julius stepped back, hopefully understanding how the hardships with women for us regular nobles echoed his own in a way.

"Who here understands that struggle?" I asked while looking around in the audience and receiving a roar of approval from nearly all the men there. That was probably the first time the crowd actually cheered in my favor.

"You keep complaining that no one understands you, but have you made the effort to try to do the same? Did you even give Angie the same courtesy you wanted from her? Have the two of you even talked about this without any posturing or pretense?!" Black Getter spread out its arms as if daring Julius to respond.

He did so by activating the wings of his armor and making his sword shine with power. "I will admit, my way of thinking may have flaws. That things could have been different. However–"

"–you only love Marie?" I tiredly finished his thought. He nodded and I turned to pick up the discarded tomahawk on the ground.

"You and your friends were supposed to be the best of us. The kind of men we all should have aspired to be. Hell, you're supposed to be the paragon above everyone else. You're going to rule our country one day." I pointed out as I started to slowly walk towards my final opponent.

"I never asked for any of this." He bitterly said.

What a coincidence, neither did I.

His Armor shot forward and desperately struck at Black Getter, landing hit after hit. It didn't do any damage. I raised the arm that held the tomahawk and Julius braced to defend it with both his armaments.

"Good talk, your highness." The tomahawk swung down and broke through the shield, sword, and the left side of Julius' armor. Black Getter pushed at the Armor and it fell on its back.

"Leon Fou Bartfort is victorious!" The referee announced but I didn't really care anymore at that point.

I put the tomahawk back in Black Getter's shoulder as it turned around and walked back to the tunnel entrance I walked out of earlier. I ignored the voices around me as I went. Control took over as the screens went dark and the cockpit opened up.

Slipping out and onto the offered hand, I looked around and squinted at how everything looked a bit blurry. Control slowly lowered me to the ground but I couldn't help feel like the world was spinning.

I jumped off of Black Getter's hand and stumbled onto the ground. I felt the gust of wind as it flew back into the sky but I just wanted to get back to the changing room. Staggering into the hallway, I had to brace myself against the wall when my vision swam. I guess that took more out of me than I thought. Pressing my back against the wall, I slowly slid to the floor and closed my eyes as I lost consciousness.

 

[Blackraptor]

As a bonus, here are the themes for each of the fights:

Spoiler: Leon's Regular Battle Theme - Used in the initial stomp

Spoiler: Leon vs Jilk

Spoiler: Leon vs Julius

Ended up using a few tracks I really liked from way back. I applaud you if you actually know the source of Leon's theme.

 

[Blackraptor]

To say that Livia got upset when she, Angie, and Clarice found me slumped against a wall in the hallway was an understatement. I got a real scolding from all three but Livia made me promise to take care of myself more under threat of cheek pinching. What fearsome friends I had!

Thankfully, both the doctors and Control later on confirmed that I had just been suffering from a combination of exhaustion and prolonged motion sickness. The medical staff in particular were surprised when they didn't find any physical injuries on me considering what I put myself through by moving around that fast in Black Getter. The pilot suit Control made me really worked as advertised.

Jenna had immediately secured our winnings with help from Daniel, Raymond, and Miauler–I finally remembered the catboy's name!–in case anyone cried foul from my win. My sister did give me an earful for risking a sure win when I made my wager with Jilk. Daniel and Raymond came away like bandits before officially apologizing for being part of vandalizing my room. At the reminder, I looked at both of them in the most serious expression I could muster and said–

"I will have my revenge. Prepare for your chairs to be tipped over at the most inconvenient of times. Who knows, you may even find your things in slightly different places from what you remember."

The laughter we shared pretty much reaffirmed our friendship. I still wasn't sure if Daniel was thinking straight with him trying to get with Jenna, but I would help him if he asked.

Speaking of my sister, she surprisingly made me come away with the lion's share of our combined winnings. She told me that I'd need it for when I talk to the Redgrave and Atlee families before laughing her way back to her dorm, with her catboy pushing a cart that had a small hill of platinum coins.

Earl Atlee was unavailable, but Angie helped me get an audience with her father when I explained the situation. So there I was, standing in what I believed was Duke Vince Rapha Regrave's audience chamber. I wasn't sure if it was his office as well since he was seated behind a very expensive looking table in the middle of the room. His son, and Angie's older brother, Gilbert Rapha Redgrave stood at his side. Both men looked pretty intense and were just staring at me. I was trying my best not to fidget from their gaze while a big pile of platinum coins just sat silently at my side.

"My daughter spoke highly of you as a good friend when she asked that I agree to an audience with you. I have also looked into your accomplishments and investigated the specifics of that duel you had with the prince and his friends." Duke Redgrave addressed me. I reminded myself to thank Angie for putting in a good word for me. "Tell me boy, why is it that you have come to me?"

Okay, just like how Control and I practiced. "I understand that, regardless of my actual intentions and goals, I still raised a hand against the heir to the throne as well as the sons of the other high lords. I am the son of a regional Baron and only hold my titles provisionally. As such, I have no actual political power. Therefore, I wish to implore house Redgrave–"

"To clean up the mess that you and my daughter made, yes?" I swallowed and nodded at the Duke's words.

"If at all possible, I wish to prevent myself from being put to the axe and my family's reputation to be spared." I finished my spiel with a bow. I didn't need to mention the tribute I brought since such a thing was already expected considering who I was asking a favor from.

"You stood by my daughter's side when no one else did. I shall return the favor in kind." Yes! I fought my face muscles from breaking out into a big grin. Have to stay professional!

I suddenly felt a cold sweat when Angie's dad gave me a particular kind of smile. "I shall also speak to Earl Atlee of the favor you did his daughter. It will make my work easier if the two of us deal with this issue together."

Angie! Your dad is so cool!

"I must ask." Angie's brother spoke up next. "My sister spoke of you as a friend, but the extent of how far you were willing to go for her and the Atlee daughter, most would not see it as merely the actions of a concerned friend. What are you really after, Leon Fou Bartfort?"

I thought about his words for a moment. He was right. I could have just arrived at the arena with Black Getter, beat up all five of those idiots, refused to elaborate on anything, and left. Jenna and I could then have just danced our way to the bookies. The thought of doing things that way made me scowl.

I didn't want to live my life with regrets anymore.

"I could have just fought in the duel and won, but that wouldn't have actually helped Angie and Clarice." I spoke, staring at the table as I recalled my feelings on the matter as a whole. "If both his highness and Jilk had sincerely talked with the two of them, been honest with their desires, and faced the consequences of their choices, then I would have stayed out of their business and let the couples work through it to whatever it ended up as."

"But the way they treated the women who genuinely loved them, who wanted to spend the rest of their lives with them, even though they couldn't return their feelings." I looked back up and met Gilbert's gaze before continuing. "I wasn't about to let them get away with that."

Angie's brother didn't betray anything he felt about my answer. Then Duke Redgrave asked a question that Control and I also considered as a possibility. "And if I had refused to support you?"

"Then I would have prostrated in front of the crown and the high lords and begged them to spare my family." As much as we could have wanted otherwise, there was no way I could get out of severe punishments if I didn't have a powerful house on my side. At most, I might have been able to save the Bartfort name. "If they wanted me to renounce my titles and name, then I'd do that too."

"You would cower before them? The very people who wronged you? Have you no pride?" The Duke asked with narrowed eyes.

I almost scoffed. When had pride gotten me anywhere good, in either of my lives? "My pride isn't worth my family's wellbeing."

Both men were quiet for several moments before Duke Redgrave finally nodded.

"You may leave."

I didn't need to be told twice, bowing to both men and swiftly leaving the room. Once I was in the hallway I gave a sigh of relief and raised my fist in triumph. It cost me a good chunk of my payout, but it was worth it. Plus, since the Duke said that he would be the one to talk to the Atlee house, I didn't even need to spend any more money as tribute for them.

Thanks for the bonus, Jenna!

…

"What is your impression of him?" Vince Rapha Redgrave asked his son after the young man left.

Gilbert Rapha Redgrave hummed as he walked to the pile of wealth the boy laid at their feet in tribute. "He puts too little stock in himself. He should have put the power of his Armor forward as a bargaining chip as well."

"He'll have time to learn." Vice said in agreement.

"But his actions have been honorable and he did not completely humiliate the prince." Gilbert added as he turned back to his father. Vice scoffed and waved his hand in dismissal.

"No, the boy did that all his own." It was no secret between the two men that the Duke did not think highly of the crown prince. He had inherited what Vince considered as the worst aspects of his parents. The boy had a loyal circle of friends, but little else.

"Shall we secure the Bartfort boy's allegiance then? He has yet to find a wife. We can bind him to our house through a daughter of our allies." Gilbert suggested. Vice nodded as he had also already considered it, with how much his dear Angie complimented the boy to no end. He had not seen his daughter so happy ever since she entered the Academy.

"No. Once Bernard finds out what he did for Clarice, we would need something more to convince young Leon to throw his lot with our family." He concluded. Indeed, once Earl Atlee heard the news, Vice had little doubt what he would offer Leon Fou Bartfort.

Vince could not let his house be found lacking in comparison.

…

Classes had finally concluded for the start of summer break and I felt fantastic! I had basically achieved everything I could have possibly wanted, barring finding a bride. Both Daniel and Raymond already went home, but not before Daniel finally got Jenna to break and allow him to send her letters over the summer. The madman was actually doing it. Incredible.

Control and I talked about our transportation and, to my surprise, they actually suggested that the Nagare be sent to pick up Jenna, Hicks, and myself at the harbor.

You are victorious. There is no reason for you to not return home victoriously as well.

I can't believe that Control told me to flex on everyone. It was amazing!

Jenna was pretty excited about being seen going home in a pretty impressive looking ship. Hicks was a bit apprehensive, but couldn't deny his curiosity of what the ship would be like from the inside.

"It looks so nice!" Livia said as she beheld my ship. She, Angie, and Clarice came along to see me off. Hicks quickly boarded the ship when he saw who I was with while Jenna made sure as many people as possible saw her go inside the Nagare.

Angie slowly took in the size and look of my ship. "So this is the other Lost Item. Then is your Armor also inside it?"

"Yep. Black Getter is in the hangar. I'm actually planning on spending most of the break training with it. I haven't been able to practice at all since I got to the Academy so I want to make up for lost time." I explained my plans.

Just a pretty laid back summer break with my family, Black Getter, and Control.

Clarice made a thoughtful sound and tilted her head. "So you don't have any other plans aside from playing with your toy?"

"It would have cost you no effort to not phrase it like that, Clarice." I flatly told her, making the older girl grin and the other two giggle. "I mean, I'll probably be roped into helping the family with a bunch of stuff too. It'll be nice to see everyone again."

"What about you three? Planning anything interesting?" I turned the question around to my friends.

"Livia will be staying with me over the summer break." Angie answered for both her and Livia as she proceeded to hug the other girl from behind. I raised an eyebrow at the action.

"Angie insisted, though I'm not sure how much of a companion I can be." Livia squeaked as she was hugged tighter by her friend. I see, so the main antagonist ended up as the hidden Yuri Route. Interesting.

I then turned to our senior. "How about you Clarice?"

"Oh, I'll be heading home as well." She started before stepping forward and leaning towards me. She placed a finger on my chest and made circles as she continued. "I need to talk to my father about a few important things regarding my future, seeing as I'll be graduating soon."

"Huh, neat. I guess we'll all see each other once school starts up again then." I answered stiffly, my heart going faster than it did when I piloted Black Getter. We said our farewells and I boarded the Nagare, feeling nostalgic about the whole thing. Control had the ship leave the harbor and made for the Bartfort lands.

My time in the Academy so far was definitely not what I expected it to be. I just wanted to be a background character, just stay out of everyone's way as the main story progressed. Before I knew it, I met new friends, made a few enemies, even ended up somehow getting the main protagonist and main antagonist become best friends. I had once told Control that I was probably not a background character anymore. They scoffed, actually scoffed, and told me that I was never a background character in the first place.

You are the protagonist of Leon Fou Bartfort's story. Olivia is the protagonist of her story. Angelica Rapha Redgrave and Clarice Fia Atlee are the protagonists of theirs.

I still couldn't say that I fully understood the deeper meaning behind those words. However, as I watched Jenna and Nicks argue about which of their meals were better while Miauler stood passively eating his fish sandwich, I could definitely say that I didn't regret any of it at all.

A couple of weeks passed and I was back at the floating island where the Saotome Research Lab was and was desperately trying not to crash as I flew around the environment in Black Getter.

Leon, your father wishes for you to return to the family estate. It seems that several representatives from the capital have arrived. It may be about the fallout from the duel.

I had Black Getter land when Control finished talking. They had left a simple drone with my parents so they could use it to contact me whenever I went to my island. It was pretty convenient. Although, when my mother found out that Control had records of several recipes that she had never heard of, she proceeded to use the drone as a talking cookbook while she experimented with new dishes almost daily. I mean, they were great, but it was still pretty funny.

"Okay, should we take the Nagare?"

I believe this would be a good time for you to practice long-distance open air flight. It should not take too long for you to reach your home from here using Black Getter F. I can always deploy the Nagare in case of an emergency.

I nodded in agreement and took a breath before making Black Getter lift off. The displays lit up with a waypoint marker for me to follow back home. Hopefully the representatives from the capital wouldn't take too much time so I could get back to training.

They'd just tell me that I was off the hook, go along their merry way, and I could be back on my island the next day. Easy.

 

[Blackraptor]

I lay motionless on the ground as I watched the clouds roll by above me. The grass fluttered against my skin as a gentle breeze passed by. The tranquility this moment afforded me was one I would remember for the rest of my days. The small, imperceptible, imperfections of life and everything around me was eye opening.

Such as the small rock that landed next to my hand.

It allowed me the mental and emotional epiphanies that I had failed to achieve in my previous life. That evil will only truly harm, if you retaliate in kind. That fame and desires are worthless pursuits. That the Universe itself is Change. That most problems are fabrications of the mind.

Like the other small rock that hit my shoe.

Of not worrying about the past, living in the present, and definitely, absolutely, positively not thinking about the future.

Never the future.

A small rock landed on my chest. It was of no consequence. It was only myself, tranquility, and a wide open sky.

No Thoughts

Head Empty

I blinked as a small rock hit me on the head and I finally addressed my tormentor. "Dear sister, please. Humanity's capacity to resolve disputes without resorting to base violence is what separates us from the animals."

"I swear that I will separate your head from your body if you don't get up and help me!" I sighed at the disturbance from my further meditative pursuits.

I would suggest doing as she asks. There is a non-zero probability of Jenna actually being capable of the feat.

I finally got up and gave Control a flat look. They were using a pretty ordinary looking drone this time, a floating sphere like the one I first saw them in. The stealth model was not really needed while I was at home so it was being stored at the Nagare.

Both Jenna and myself were currently tasked to till the soil around one of the family farms. We didn't really need to do this anymore because of the better conditions of our territory. However, Jenna was being punished for getting Miauler–who was forbidden from helping my sister–and I was being punished for metaphorically kicking the policial beehive at the capital.

"I don't care how big your Armor is or that you will outrank me soon! You are still my son and I will discipline you as such!" My father said after the envoys from the Royal Palace left yesterday.

The official end of the engagements for Angie and Clarice apparently happened pretty close together. The Redgrave and Atlee families then raced–raced–to finalize and send a representative to the Bartfort estate in order to formally give an engagement offer each. To me. To marry Angie or Clarice.

I wouldn't say that I fainted after reading the letters that the representatives sent. It was just exhaustion from training with Black Getter.

That was my story and I was sticking to it.

It got even worse when another set of envoys arrived a few days later, this time from the Royal Palace directly.

They found out about the engagement offers from the Redgrave and Atlee houses and decided to try to save face, according to dad at least. In order to make any possible engagement to either family look good, as well as a reward from the crown for honorably chastitizing Julius and his boys, I was to be formally promoted to the Lower Fifth Rank of Viscount. On top of all that, I was to be instated as a fully fledged Independent Knight of the Holfort Kingdom.

I was stricken with another sudden bout of exhaustion. I personally blamed the sudden chill the previous night.

I was to report to the Royal Palace for the award ceremony and knighting by the King in a week's time.

I got back to work next to Jenna while Nicks and Colin stood around nearby. Nicks was there to keep an eye on us and make sure we actually were doing the work ourselves, Colin was there just to spend time with us.

After a while, Jenna took a break and was taking a drink from a canteen that Miauler handed her. "What I don't get is why you're so hung up about this. Doesn't this magically fix your biggest problem at the Academy?"

"Jenna, the proposals were from probably two of the most powerful houses in the country aside from the crown. The women being offered were once the fiancées of the crown prince and the man who is practically his brother. I think Leon is within his right to panic over having to choose between them." Nicks pointed out quite reasonably. See, this was why he's my favorite older sibling!

"Can't he just marry both? Like dad!" Oh, sweet Colin. I turned to my older siblings and frowned when they glanced at each other and narrowed their eyes. I take it back.

"Nicks, Jenna, no!" I firmly stated. That only made them squint harder. "Even one of them is ridiculously far out of my league! Both?! Are you crazy?!"

"But what if you did though? You'd have the support of two great houses. Maybe even reel in the Special Scholarship student as a concubine if you're so fond of her too." Jenna muttered. I could literally hear the gears turning in her head.

Brain! My guy! Seriously! Stop imagining my three friends in bed in nothing but sexy underwear! It's rude! No! I don't want to tell you which colors would suit each of them best!

"Maybe I should keep them all as friends instead? Boys and girls can just be friends you know! Just because they're close with each other doesn't mean they have to be romantically involved!" Both my older siblings looked at me like I was an idiot for even thinking that.

"Spurn the proposals from two great houses and you really will end up being executed, idiot." Jenna pointed out. I grimaced as I couldn't refute her words.

Nicks sighed and nodded in agreement. "As much as I hate to admit it, Jenna is right. You either have to choose one or have both."

Do you perhaps not find either girl attractive? Physically, emotionally or intellectually?

I was about to address Control when I paused in surprise when I saw the drone being hugged by Colin. Control didn't seem to mind the attention at all.

"No, they are very attractive for different reasons." I eventually answered. "I just don't know if I can be that to them this soon, or ever."

Then does the problem stem from your insecurity in being able to make them happy?

"Angie and Clarice went through some really bad emotional stuff, okay? That kind of thing doesn't just go away." I reminded everyone and they seemed to agree with that at least.

"Did someone hurt them?" Colin asked worriedly.

I smiled at my younger brother and patted his head. "Yes Colin. By some people who they loved very much."

"Then why not be their hero and sweep them off their feet." I rubbed my forehead when another female voice spoke from the direction of our estate. "Provide the love and care they so desperately crave so our family can get out of this squalor."

I turned to the direction of the voice and regarded my younger sister, Finley. She was younger than me and would not be attending the Academy for another two years. Her eye color was identical to Jenna's but her hair was a lighter shade of brown and was styled in a medium bob cut that wrapped around her face.

"Trying to sound mature doesn't actually make you so, Finley." I taunted my younger sister like the mature adult that I was.

"You would know, wouldn't you?" I admit that I walked into that one. She then turned to Jenna and spoke. "A letter from your suitor arrived. Mother asked me to let you know."

"Honestly, the persistence of that idiot is astounding." Jenna sounded offended but none of us bought it with how quickly she started walking back to the estate, Miauler following close behind. I hoped that Daniel could handle a girl that was more Tsun than Dere once school started back up.

"How does it feel, eldest brother, to know that both of your younger siblings have effectively already secured spouses? Is it motivating you to try harder?" Finley decided to take a snipe at Nicks before walking away. Sharp tongue, that one.

The eldest brother in question looked between his younger sister and his two brothers. "I swear, that girl acts like Jenna with more spite and a better vocabulary. I guess we can all return home then. Come on you two."

I was walking alongside Colin, Control was still in his possession, when he spoke up. "Hey Leon."

"What's up?" I asked with a smile.

"Do you love those girls?" The smile disappeared at the question.

"I don't know, Colin." And that's what scared me the most.

As ordered, I was back at the Capital after a week. My family came along with me and we all traveled there in the Nagare. Colin in particular was really happy after I let him sit in the Captain's chair of the ship.

My parents and younger siblings were wearing the best formalwear they had, while Nicks and Jenna opted to just show up in their uniforms. I, on the other hand, was handed a brand new set of knightly formalwear. It even had a half cape that hung off one shoulder!

If there was one image that perfectly encapsulated the sheer insanity of the whole event, it was Black Getter's cape sprinkled with flowers and the colorful confetti and streamers that hung from different parts of its body. It stood outside as the Palace Officials insisted on displaying it instead of keeping it in the Nagare for some reason. I only hoped that Control was invisible somewhere and taking pictures, because I wouldn't believe that this actually happened if there wasn't any visual proof.

"It looks so cuuuuute!" Livia's squeal made my family and I turn to see her, Angie, and Clarice walking towards us. Unlike my older sister, all three girls were wearing beautiful dresses that fit them perfectly. Not only that, even their hairstyles changed. Livia's hair was a bit more curly than it normally was, Angie's was worn in a ponytail, and Clarice had her hair flowing like a waterfall down her shoulders.

I would have taken a step back if not for Nicks' body blocking me. "Don't insult them by backing away, Leon."

I gave a small nod at my brother's whisper and gave all three girls a big smile. "You should have seen the looks on the decorators when they were shown what they were going to work on. It's nice to see you three again, you all look beautiful."

"Thanks Leon! Angie picked my dress and Clarice curled my hair." Livia explained as she spun around to show off her new look.

Clarice stepped forward and looked me up and down. "I have to say, you look quite handsome yourself, Leon."

"Indeed, you look every part the dashing knight." Angie agreed with her own smile. I proceeded to introduce the girls to my family formally. All three girls immediately thought that Colin was adorable and the poor boy had no idea what to do with all the female attention he was getting.

"Don't laugh. That'll be you soon enough." My grin froze on my face at Finley's words. When I paid more attention to the scene, I could see both Angie and Clarice stealing glances at me from time to time. "Don't mess this up, big brother."

The ceremony itself was pretty straightforward all in all. There were a bunch of guests from noble houses I'd never heard of while the King sat on his throne with the Queen standing at his side. I didn't even need to say a thing. I just had to take a knee as a man announced my new formal title of Viscount.

The King then stood up and proceeded to award me the title of Independent Knight. I fiercely kept my eyes on the floor as he tapped his sword on my shoulders as part of the ceremony. I was terrified that he might have been mad at me fighting his son.

And just like that, it was over.

After the ceremony, I was escorted to a room within the palace. It was just supposed to be me, so my friends ended up staying with my family until I was done. At least they had Colin to keep them entertained.

The door was opened and I could feel myself sweating loudly. Inside was Vince Rapha Redgrave and a man I was assuming was Bernard Fia Atlee. The two men were sitting side by side on a couch, with another once placed in front of them.

I had never wanted to run away more than I did at that moment.

"Ah! The man of the hour arrives!" The man sitting next to Angie's dad said with a genial smile. "I am Minister Bernard Fia Atlee. I understand that you are already acquainted with Duke Redgrave."

I nodded and greeted both men with a bow before sitting down on the available couch. I didn't dare speak out of turn and waited to be addressed. Eventually, Duke Redgrave spoke up. "Your ship and your Armor are as impressive as what people have told me."

"Indeed! Your Black Getter, as my dear Clarice said its name is, cuts quite the imposing figure. Like a knight from the old legends!" Minister Atlee agreed with a smile and a nod, one that made me nervous because of his next words. "One might even think that it could be powerful enough to challenge even the King."

"I would never do that! My loyalty is to the Holfort Kingdom!" I cried out in reflex.

"No." Duke Redgrave cut through my words. "Your loyalty is to your family. You demonstrated as such when you went to beg for my help."

"Indeed. Such is the quality of a true knight. I'm certain that you would do whatever it took to protect them." Minister Atlee agreed with a pleased expression.

"That was a rather on the nose way to say that you want him to be part of your family, Bernard.

"There are times for oratorical finesse, Vince."

I chose to remain quiet during the byplay between the two very powerful men.

"Have you decided which of our daughters you wish to marry?" The Duke suddenly asked me with the subtlety of a hammer.

The Minister then leaned forward and added, "Or do you want to have both?"

I looked between the two men that could ruin the rest of my life. I then closed my eyes and gave the only answer I could come up with when I thought about the proposals. "I don't know if I should have either of them."

Both men looked at me expectantly when I opened my eyes again. It seemed that they wanted me to elaborate.

"What Angie and Clarice went through with Julius and Jilk. I can't just swoop in and make everything better for them." I said with a shake of my head.

"Yet is that not what you did when you fought his highness and the other heirs?" Duke Redgrave correctly pointed out.

"That was easy. Fighting is easy." At least it was when you had a Getter Robo at your side. "They both need someone who can do more than just punch their problems away."

"That your worry about the engagements stem from concern for our daughters' hearts, rather than how they can improve your standing in court speaks well of you." Minister Atlee finally said with a gentle smile.

"Indeed. I am starting to understand why Angie seems so fond of you." Duke Redgrave agreed as he stared into my eyes while stroking his manly beard.

The two men then began whispering to each other and kind of maybe arguing about something? I couldn't hear anything from where I was.

"We can afford to wait for an answer from you until Clarice's graduation to decide. Choose one or marry both." Duke Redgrave said, giving me an ultimate time limit.

Minister Atlee then stood up and spoke. "Though we both agree that the latter would be the ideal outcome."

Why were the two of them so onboard about the possibility of me marrying both their daughters?

To my shock, both men actually shook my hand and congratulated me on my new titles. I was about to excuse myself when Minister Atlee spoke once again.

"Oh, one more thing. We would like to ask a favor from you as there is still time before summer break ends."

I was in Black Getter's cockpit as I watched my family, in addition to Livia, Angie, and Clarice board the Nagare.

Servants from both houses had already been sent ahead beforehand. It was a planned arrangement that the Duke and Minister arranged with my father before the award ceremony. The three girls were going to spend the last week of the break at our estate.

It seemed that they also already knew about it as the three of them had already changed out of their dresses and into travelling clothes when I met back up with everyone.

Livia was pretty excited about the whole thing while the other two were looking at me with pleased smiles.

Like the brave man that I was, I opted to fly home alongside the Nagare instead of riding inside and having to interact with the three girls. I ignored the disappointed looks from my parents when they saw me do that.

I hope you understand that this is an issue you cannot run from. The girls themselves also deserve better.

"I just need time, Control." I said, gripping the controls tighter. I felt Black Getter shake a bit. Turbulence, I told myself.

To seriously consider the situation and your feelings or to waste by ignoring it?

I couldn't give an answer.

 

[Blackraptor]

Marie Fou Lafan looked on impassively while Prince Julius and the other capture targets fought a group of monsters. They were presently exploring a dungeon that Greg recommended for training. It was one they have gone through repeatedly throughout the summer break.

The prince coordinated the attack with him, Greg, and Chris at the front. Jilk and Brad were further back, providing support and calling out monster movement and actions.

Marie was in the far rear of the group in case anyone needed to be healed using her magic. Prince Julius said that even though he can no longer be her lover, he could still help the development of his friends and protect her. The memory of that duel made Marie grind her teeth.

Leon Fou Bartfort

A name she had quickly learned to hate.

Everything was going perfectly! She was triggering all the right flags and even managed to create her perfect harem! Then that guy just had to stick his nose in her business.

And for what? The useless Saint? The violent Villainess? The irrelevant Fiancée?

He used that dumb imitation Super Robot of his to crush her harem for those worthless women?!

Where did he even get that? Was he some late game optional boss? Why was he yelling like they were in some lame anime?!

Now he was supposed to be a Viscount and an Independent Knight?!

Prince Julius even said that he was offered the hands of Angelica Rapha Redgrave and Clarice Fia Atlee in marriage!

If he wanted to have such a defective harem, then he can have those rejects!

"Marie! It's safe to proceed now." She put on her fake smile with practiced ease when Brad called for her. This was how their dungeon diving adventures had been going recently. When they started, she had to heal them constantly. A lot of the time, she was worried that she wouldn't have enough energy to keep up.

Then their need for healing became less and less as they repeated the dungeon. They stopped fighting around each other and started fighting alongside each other. They constantly talked and met about how to improve their cohesion in combat. Now, they have been trying to see how fast and efficiently they could clear the whole thing.

When she asked them why they were going this far when they were already good enough to clear it, they all looked at each other and gave determined nods.

"Leon Fou Bartfort wasn't just good enough." Jilk answered with a solemn expression.

What?

Greg sighed but was smiling when he spoke. "The bastard ran through us without a second thought and even had time to give Jilk and Julius some tough love. Yeah, I'm pissed that we lost, but I'm not ashamed of losing to a man like that."

Wait.

"Indeed, he has forced me to truly look at my way of fighting and find flaws that I had never considered before." Chris added while staring at the blade of his sword.

Huh?

Brad looked wistful and shook his head. "I felt completely helpless during that fight. It's a feeling I never want to experience again."

But that's…

"He made me reconsider my actions and realize things about myself. About who I think I am and who I can yet become. I can never take back my mistakes, but I can ensure that I never repeat them moving forward." Julius concluded with a handsome smile directed at her. The rest of his friends agreed and they all started to make their way deeper into the dungeon.

Marie looked at their retreating backs in stupefaction.

If they don't even need her to heal them in a dungeon, they might not even need her at all one day. What then?

Would she have to crawl back to those animals that she was forced to call family?

No! She would rather die all over again!

She was the main heroine dammit! She had the affections of the capture targets! She had healing magic! This was her story! She's the protagonist! She would get her happy ending!

She wouldn't let them leave her!

Not like how her big brother did!

…

"So you'll marry them both, right?" Thank you Livia, for having the subtlety of a sledgehammer wrapped in several pillows. I wasn't surprised that she was able to track me down, she literally had waypoints that lead to me. I was surprised that she made sure that neither Angie nor Clarice were around when she approached to talk to me.

The two girls in question were back at the estate and were having tea with mom and my sisters. Honestly, it was just mom trying to show off the new pastry recipes she got from Control. I guess Livia opted out in order to talk to me about the whole engagement thing.

"You think I should? I would have thought that you would have wanted me to only marry Angie." I asked. With how super close the two girls have been, you'd think that they were long lost sisters or something.

"I used to, but now I also want Clarice to be happy. I think you can make them both happy." Truly, Livia was a Saint, powers or no.

I was about to comment on her faith in me when I saw Black Getter standing in the far distance and remembered something. "How does Black Getter look to you anyway? Does it also glow?"

"Huh? The bunny?" Bunny? Excuse me? "Not really? I guess I can feel the green light from it, but you glow more than it does."

That's weird, I should have gotten the Getter Rays on me from piloting it.

"What about the Nagare?"

"The ship? It's the same as the bunny from the outside."

She couldn't feel a lot of Getter Rays from it? Wasn't it also powered by the stuff? "What about when you got onboard?"

"I could definitely sense the light, but it was coming from deeper inside than we were allowed to explore. It wasn't bad or overwhelming or anything. The only impressions it could get from the light there were sleep and big." Huh, that must have been the reactor that Control didn't want anyone getting close to. "Leon, why are you trying to change the subject?"

"I wasn't, but I guess it would look that way." I said with a tilt of my head.

"Weren't you having trouble with finding a girl to have tea parties with? You said that no one had ever given you a chance to fall in love during the duel with his highness." Livia correctly pointed out.

"And you're saying that I literally have two great girls who are giving me the chance I always wanted?" I smiled awkwardly and finished the thought for her. She nodded and waited for me to say more about it.

"This and that are a bit different, at least for me." I started to explain. "Me finding a wife through Tea Parties was just a requirement for my noble rank before I graduated. At most, I would have been fine with a woman who would marry me out of convenience and we would just stay out of each other's way."

"But that's not how marriages are supposed to be like!" Livia protested with a cutely indignant expression.

"It is for most of the nobility." A sigh left my lips, thinking about the situation with the engagements more. "But it's different when it comes to those two. I genuinely like them as people. They're my friends."

"Then what's the problem?" The frustration in her voice was obvious.

"The problem is that I'm scared that I might do something wrong and become another Jilk or Julius for them." I finally admitted and Livia actually looked mad.

"What?! No you wouldn't!"

I smiled and shook my head. "Livia, I don't think I know how to love someone."

"What are you talking about?" She asked haltingly, like she couldn't believe what I just said.

"I've read the books, I've seen other couples, I've heard all the advice. If I wanted to sweep a girl off her feet, I can probably do that with enough preparation." I recalled all the stuff I crammed into my head before I departed for the Academy. "But when I imagine doing that with either Angie or Clarice, I feel sick to my stomach. It's like doing those things would be a mistake."

"I think you do love them, Leon." I looked at Livia with wide eyes at the gentleness and certainty of her words. "If you didn't, then you would be worrying so much about this."

"But that doesn't–"

"I'm not saying that you love them romantically. Yet. I just mean that they are precious to you and you are scared of losing them." She interrupted, sounding more confident as she went. The words made something stir in my chest.

I believe that the lack of emotional attachments you have experienced in your prior life has amplified your bonds with the people around you in this life.

My eyes widened when I remembered what Control said when we talked about how the Getter Rays were changing me.

You, as a person, found something you never thought you needed and did not want anything to happen to it.

"Then what should I do? I don't want to hurt them by doing something but I don't want to hurt them by not doing anything either." I quickly asked, my mind racing.

Livia just smiled at me and nodded. "Then how about this, what is it you want to do with Angie and Clarice when you just close your eyes and think of them?"

Aside from the obvious loaded answer to such a question, I followed her suggestion and closed my eyes. Then I thought about each girl, really thought about them.

"I want to host a Tea Party with Angie and see her have fun." I whispered as I saw the scene in my mind. I smiled when I thought about another scene. "I want to hang out with Clarice and just talk about whatever."

"Then do that!" I opened my eyes at Livia's happy declaration.

I raised a brow as I didn't feel as confident about it. "How is that any different from just being their friend?"

"It's not? But wouldn't it give you all a chance to get to know each other more? You might even fall in love along the way with one or both. They might fall in love with you even more!" Livia reasoned out with a smile and a clap.

My brain stalled for a moment when she said the last part. "They're in love with me?"

"Leon, you literally fought for their honor without expecting anything in return. With that and the way you did it, what were you expecting?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

"Gratitude as their friend?" Please stop looking at me like that, Livia. It's making me want to crawl into a hole and disappear!

Things settled down to a companionable silence and I just had to point something out. "You know a lot of stuff about this."

"It's mainly things that the women from my home village say. A good marriage is based on good communication, a great marriage is based on trust and understanding. You need a lot more time for the second one." Livia explained. I took her word for it as I didn't really know a lot about her home village, even from the lore of the game.

"You should start advertising about that skill of yours when school starts up. A lot of people would pay good money for love advice that's useful." I suggested, making Livia gasp in surprise.

"What?! I couldn't possibly charge people for that!" I grinned at her indignation.

"Fine, I'll charge them for you and keep the money for myself."

"Leon!" I couldn't help but start laughing when she slapped my arm.

I'm glad I had Livia as my friend.

…

Olivia watched Leon ask Clarice if she wanted to take a walk around the estate grounds. It was pretty cute how he was so uncertain about himself in this when he showed unflinching decisiveness in other things. She walked up to her best friend as they both watched Leon and Clarice walk away, the boy surprised when he was pulled along by the hand.

"Are you okay, Angie." Her friend gave her a soft smile.

"Of course. I just hope to have the same opportunity with him." Angie said with a nod and a fond look at the pair.

Olivia reached out and took hold of Angie's hand, their fingers intertwined immediately."You will, Leon just needed a clearer vision on how to move forward."

"You spoke with him while we were with his mother and sisters." Angie correctly surmised.

"He was nervous about a few things. I think he'll be fine now." She explained and gave her friend's hand a squeeze.

"What about you, Livia?" Angie asked, fully facing her and holding her other hand. "Both Clarice and I had the impression that you had romantic feelings for Leon as well."

For Leon? She could see it, she supposed. Perhaps in another time or another place.

She smiled and shook her head. "It's like Leon said at the first Tea Party we had. We're friends."

Angie looked a bit skeptical but eventually nodded. As she followed Angie back inside the estate, she took a glance in the direction where Leon's ship was docked. It was far off at the edge of the floating island they were on.

The distance didn't matter.

She could hear it.

She could feel it.

She would cherish Leon, Angie, and Clarice.

They were her treasures.

Her purpose

Her destiny

Her love

She would nurture and support them.

Three hearts beating as one.

 

[Blackraptor]

Why? How? When?

I was breathing hard inside Black Getter's cockpit as Holfort's Capital burned around me. I did everything right! When I found out what Marie was trying to do, I did what I had to do in order to get things back on track!

Olivia got together with Julius, beat the Villainess' champion, and I even left them a trail to the easiest Saint Relic!

When I was sure that Olivia was going to be fine, I started training with Black Getter. I stopped going to classes and just went back to the island.

I trained and trained and trained!

Everytime Control said that I should reconsider my actions, I just told it to just trust me and follow my orders. I beat the game back to front over and over again, I knew what I was doing!

When Fanoss attacked, I just came back and started eliminating enemies. There were probably some casualties on Holfort's end, but it was fine as long as Julius and Oliva were okay.

So why?! Why was I watching Olivia discard Julius' lifeless body?!

The girl who was supposed to be the Saintess turned her gaze up at Black Getter, her disheveled hair being unable to hide her empty eyes. She gave me a happy smile and an enthusiastic wave.

I gripped the levers in the cockpit tighter as a message kept blinking on the screen.

[Enemy of Humanity Identified]

 

[Blackraptor]

Clarice Fia Atlee always believed in Destined Love. How could she not? She saw it every time she looked at her parents.

When it was explained to her that she would be betrothed to a boy named Jilk, she was so happy. It meant that she would get to experience the love and happiness that her parents have been.

When she met him, she was immediately smitten. A kind, considerate, and handsome boy. A bit shy and someone of few words, but Clarice was taken all the same.

As they grew up, her love for Jilk grew as well. When his talent in riding airbikes surfaced, she personally sponsored the acquisition of a top of the line model for him.

When he was finally enrolled at the Academy, Clarice could not have been happier. She would finally have the chance to spend more time with him. Granted, his duty was to Prince Julius, but she knew that they would have time to be alone.

It did not take long for things to unravel. It started as whispers and absurd rumors. A first year from a poorer noble house getting the attention or the heirs of the great houses? She just laughed off the concerns of her followers when they told her that Jilk was one of those involved.

The rumors continued as time went by and she became worried. She tried whenever she could to get an answer from Jilk, but her love would not give her the time. Frustration and desperation drove her to try to change her look and behavior to get his attention. It was less than successful.

It was then that one of her followers gave her an invitation to a Tea Party. To her disappointment, it was not from Jilk. Instead it was from another first-year named Leon Fou Bartfort. One she later looked into and found herself impressed, but she already had a love.

Her decision to attend was more of a whim and a bit of anger towards said love. She had other obligations on the date suggested, so she just decided to barge into a Tea Party that he was already hosting. It would have been a good chance to see if she could be convincing as a rebellious type.

That decision was probably the most life changing one she had ever made so far.

New friends made and another reunited.

The truth about Jilk revealed.

A fateful challenge.

A duel.

Heartbreak.

A bet made for her sake, one she couldn't comprehend.

Why had Leon gone so far for her?

He claimed friendship, but the actions of knights in stories of love paled in comparison.

His actions for Angie's sake were equally as surprising.

He fought himself to exhaustion for them. When they scolded him for it, he simply smiled and claimed it was not a big deal. He hadn't even asked anything in return.

Honestly!

Clarice wasn't exactly sure, but that was probably the moment when she started to truly see him as a man.

The moment when she started seeing him as someone she could love was because of Jilk.

True to his word, the two of them talked. He explained his stance. She cried, she begged, she screamed, she struck. Jilk accepted it all. Damn him.

"Leon Fou Bartfort would be a worthier match for you. He is a good man. I suggest you take the initiative before the Redgrave House does." Were the words Jilk left her with when their talk concluded.

The more she thought about the possibility, the more appealing it started to become. He was already a good friend. She was sure that she would fall for him more as they spent more time together.

There was one concern though.

Olivia

She and Angie had the impression that Leon and Livia loved one another, regardless of their assertions. It made too much sense for them.

They had talked to the girl about it over the break, even before her father broke the news of the engagement offer between her and Leon as well as the similar offer from Angie's family.

It frustrated her that Livia continued to assert that they were just friends. It was obvious that she just wasn't being honest with herself!

Angie and her had already agreed to work together for an outcome where Leon would marry them both. They just needed to get Livia on board.

Clarice Fia Atlee believed in Destined Love. She saw it with her parents and she could see it with Leon and Livia. She deserved to be with him as well. It was meant to be!

When Leon asked her to take a walk with him around the estate, she giggled at how innocent it was. She was happy though, and couldn't help but take his hand as they walked off.

All they did during their walk around the estate grounds was just talk about any little thing. Despite the seeming lack of substance of their conversation, Clarice didn't want her time with him to end. Such a simple thing.

"Leon, can I ask you about something?" Clarice asked as she looked out to the distance, she could even partly see the red of Leon's ship from the hill they were on.

She couldn't help but feel her heart skip a beat when he looked at her with intense seriousness. "If you heard it from Jenna or Finley, then I had nothing to do with it."

"No, silly. I'm being serious here!" She laughed at how easily he broke the tension.

"Fine. What is it?"

Clarice took a calming breath and spoke what had been on her mind. "It's about Livia."

"I had nothing to do with it." She actually reached out and pinched both his cheeks for that. She was being serious! "Okay! I'm sorry! I'll answer seriously!"

"Are you sure that there isn't anything romantic between you two? Angie and I both feel like there is something more there." She explained. She had talked with her friend about it and they both agreed that they would have been more than fine with Livia being taken as Leon's concubine. If only the two would stop being so stubborn.

Clarice blinked when she thought that she noticed something.

It was a faint feeling from somewhere she couldn't descri–but it was something she probably didn't need to worry about.

Leon gave her an easy smile and confidently responded. "Livia and I are just friends."

There it was again. Clarice tried to focus on what it was and where it was coming from. It was like there was something in Leon's eyes that she couldn't–

–seem–

–wha–

"If you're sure." Clarice said with a smile, relieved that she hadn't been inadvertently getting in between her friends.

The two of them proceeded to walk back to the Bartfort estate, hand in hand.

She was overjoyed that everything was fine.

…

In comparison with the walk I had with Clarice, the Tea Party I attempted with Angie had a bit more distractions. Confusingly, the girl herself seemed happy with having Colin and Finley join us.

I suspected that it had to do with both of my younger siblings liberally calling her Big Sister.

In any case, Livia's advice came through and I was actually having fun spending time with Angie and Clarice individually. None of the anxiety I was worried about ever surfaced. I still wasn't sure if I could be the man they wanted, but I wasn't afraid to find out.

The remainder of the week was spent like that, with my three friends even watching some of the training maneuvers I did with Black Getter. A bit more and I might even be able to catch Tomahawk Boomerangs!

Eventually, the final day arrived and I decided to give the three girls a surprise.

It turned out that, since the Nagare was designed to take on civilians for an extended period of time, it had the amenities that people would need. One of those very amenities was what my friends were looking out in awe.

"Is this a bath?" Livia asked as they took in the indoor hot springs.

"It's not really a bath. It's commonly known as a hot spring." I explained while fanning away some steam from my face with my hand.

"I mean, it looks like a bath." Clarice pointed out.

Allow me to explain.

Control got the girl's attention. They had previously run into Colin cradling the AI in their regular drone form and speaking to them. I was asked about it and decided to properly introduce everyone to Control.

They took it pretty well, all in all.

"It's unsurprising. It is a Lost Item after all." Angie helpfully explained. The others nodded as if it was no big deal. I supposed that was also the reason why my family accepted Control's existence so easily.

Control proceeded to explain the purpose of the hot springs as a place of relaxation as well as the number of health benefits that it provided. They were particularly interested when they were told of the skin care benefits of the minerals in the water.

It took very little convincing for them to partake.

It was unfortunate that I couldn't join them out of personal principle, regardless of how Clarice teased that she and the other girls wouldn't mind.

Instead, I spent time with Control at the hangar. That was when I asked about all the extra empty space.

"I mean, can't we just make more Getters?" I suggested. If I could learn to pilot one, then others should be able to as well.

I would suggest against the idea. The reasoning for the lab, Black Getter F, and the Nagare as the only ones powered by Getter Rays is to prevent gathering attention. The latter two in particular are heavily insulated by design, in order to minimize Getter Ray emissions during regular use.

I nodded at the words. "Why would we need to do that?"

The enemies of humanity are assumed to be gone by this era. Otherwise, I would have detected them. However, we cannot guarantee that there are no beings in deep space that would not be attracted to Getter Ray dispersal. I would rather avoid the possibility entirely in case they end up as hostile.

Right, don't get the attention of any space monsters. That was a pretty reasonable reason.

I went back to the hot springs after a while and saw the girls cuddled up together on a bench while wearing the provided yukatas.

"I'm guessing you three had a good time?" I asked rhetorically, smiling at the contentment in their faces.


"Can I live here?" Clarice asked as she snuggled against Livia's back.

Angie nodded while rubbing her cheek against Livia's. "I admit, the experience was very soothing. You are also correct about the health benefits. Livia's skin is so smooth now."

Was Livia stealing my prospective fiancées?

"Leon, heeeelp~" The girl in question whined as she tried to reach out to me. It was futile, she had become a Livia sandwich.

We eventually had to go back to the Academy, Nicks and Jenna joining us on the Nagare after their own preparations.

We split up when we arrived, though the girls all stayed together since they all went to the same dorm. When I went to the front desk to get the key to my room, I was helpfully informed that I was actually transferred to a better room.

Oh yeah, I was a Viscount now.

A marked improvement in accommodations.

"More chairs for Daniel and Raymond to knock over." I pointed out to Control with narrowed eyes. I was looking forward to seeing the two again.

Have you thought about how to proceed in regards to the engagement proposals?

"Hm? Yeah, I'll spend time with both Angie and Clarice and we'll all see where it goes. We have a bit more time before the deadline their dads gave me." I explained as I sat down on my new bed. Man, this was way softer than my old one.

You seem much more confident in your plan of action.

I smiled at the memory as to why that was. "Livia gave me a pep talk and the initial idea."

I see. I hope you reach an outcome you will all be happy with.

"Thanks, Control." I said as I started unpacking my things.

A few days later, I found myself sitting at a bench in the Academy grounds as I waited for the next class. People had been greeting me whenever I walked in the hallways and the guys usually gave me nods of admiration and respect. It was weird. Didn't I cost most of them a lot of money?

"Leon!" I turned to the familiar voice and was surprised at who it was. Greg Fou Seberg approached me with an easygoing smile.

"Hey Greg, you need something?" I asked warily. The man didn't seem to mind my apprehension and sat on the available space at the bench I was on.

"Not really, I just wanted to get to know you more." He said with a grin. What? Get to know me?

"Huh, why?"

"You're kidding right?" He asked and shook his head when he realized my confusion. "Dude, you made Knight at sixteen. You went from Provisional Baron to Viscount in a single term."

"Okay, when you put it like that." I coughed when he just laid it out.

Greg's smile became a bit gentler as he continued. "I wanted to thank you too."

"I'm an Adventurer too. I'm not too shabby at it if I do say so myself." He was right too. If Greg had been able to equip more things in the game, he could have breezed through most of it by raw stats alone.

"I was so sure of myself and my strength that I didn't think I needed to get stronger anymore." He looked up at the sky as he kept talking. "You made it perfectly clear that I was wrong."

We both sat in silence after that. The speed and decisiveness of his elimination probably weighed on him. Honestly, I took him out first because he was the most dangerous. Greg was using an outdated Armor but he had the most actual combat experience of the five. I didn't want to give him the chance to coordinate his friends.

"Let me guess, you've managed to go even further beyond?" I asked and got a grin in return.

"You got that right! The five of us have been training all summer and we've managed to come up with all sorts of cool stuff!" He proudly stated with a flex of his arm. "So thanks, for kicking us in the right direction."

I blinked and couldn't help but chuckle. "I don't think that's how the saying goes."

It was strange how easy it was for us to share a laugh.

"You know what, me and the guys are going out for some meat skewers. Why don't you join us?" I was nervous about the offer. Greg was one thing, but the others might not be as friendly.

"I wouldn't want to impose." I reasoned out.

"Nah, the others would probably want to talk to you too. I know for sure that Julius and Jilk are pretty grateful that you knocked some sense into them." He powered through with a slap on my back before pulling me to my feet. "C'mon man! Let's go!"

This was definitely not what I was expecting when I encountered the love interests again.

 

[Blackraptor]

Completely understandably, both Angie and Clarice had extremely complicated feelings when they found out about me hanging out with the love interests. On the other hand, they both told me that it would be wise to have them as allies politically.

"Regardless of our feelings on the matter, your position in the court would greatly improve by befriending them." Angie said with a sour expression, one she proceeded to cure herself of by hugging Livia. Those two, I swear.

There had been rumors rolling around about Julius and the boys being disinherited by their families for all losing to me at the same time in front of nearly all their peers. However, it didn't come to pass as they didn't utterly humiliate themselves in combat due to the sheer difference in power between them and myself. They had conducted themselves as best as they could against impossible odds. At least, that was the official word from the crown. It reminded me too much of the old corporate-speak back from work in my old life. Spinning things to sound positive just to cover up failures.

I don't know if any of the houses really believed it, but that was how it went. Interesting that there was no mention of Marie at all in the news nor the prospective engagement between myself, Clarice, and-slash-or Angie though.

"So this is what's called the bonding of men?" Raymond asked as he sat next to me at one of the long tables in the Academy library. Daniel was poring some subjects that he was having trouble with, Chris was actually helping him. I had just finished helping Greg with some math, while both Julius and Jilk were absorbed in their own studies.

"Don't be so dramatic. At least be glad that there are more people to help with studies now." I whispered to him. He nodded in realization that some of the top students of our year were actually at our table. In a rare feat of coincidence, Marie wasn't present in our little study session. It seemed that the tiny knockoff had a class that was exclusively for girls only. When I thought about it, I had heard that Livia and Angie were also having that class but I never really paid any attention to the details about it.

"Leon, may I have a moment?" Julius called out as we were about to leave the library. The rest of the boys, which now included Raymond and Daniel I suppose, went on ahead and decided to get some food. Julius led me to one of the more isolated areas of the library. Were there just designated areas here for privacy purposes?

The prince looked at me with a complicated expression, seemingly having trouble getting the words out. I raised a brow and thought about why that was. "Please don't tell me that you're going to ask me to join you five in Marie's boy-harem."

"No! Of course not!" My eyes widened at the indignance in his voice. Julius cleared his throat and recomposed himself. "That is not what I wished to talk to you about."

"Good, because I would've just jumped off the island if you did." I seriously stated with a determined nod.

Julius winced at my words. "Do you hate Marie that much?"

"More petty annoyance at this point. Don't worry, I won't do anything to harm her." I clarified. She still messed up the plot, such as there even was anymore, but I didn't want to hurt her over it or anything. Not anymore, anyway.

"I understand that my love for Marie is not allowable, however–" Julius began with a sad sigh but I interrupted him because he could continue.

"Julius, we've already been through this." I said with a roll of my eyes. Honestly, these guys were always so dramatic at the weirdest times. "I don't care if you love Marie. I don't even care that you're still hanging around her even though you lost, do whatever you want. My problem with you was how you treated Angie, that's it."

"I understand. I hope she finds the happiness she is looking for with you." He responded with a relieved smile. I chose not to comment about how certain he was that I was going to marry Angie. When I thought about it, I remembered that Jilk asked me to make Clarice a happy bride as well when we talked while eating meat skewers. Thanks for making it seem like you two just dumped your ex-fiancées on me while sounding grateful.

"So what was the thing you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked, I was getting hungry too and wanted to catch up with the others to eat.

"Ah, yes. I wanted to talk to you in order to warn you about something." Well, that got my attention. "I have heard that my mother wishes to speak with you about what happened in the duel."

"Doesn't she already know? I mean, it was a pretty hot topic for a while." I sighed. She definitely should know all about it. Angie's dad was able to piece everything together in a pretty short amount of time. I was sure that the QUEEN had ways to do the same.

"I believe she wishes to take your measure herself. I apologize in advance, I would have stopped her if I was able." Was I going to be scolded by Julius' mom for bullying him?

"It's fine. It's just a talk with a concerned mother. When should I expect a visit?" I asked instead.

Julius nodded and hummed in thought. "I don't know of any specific dates, but I have a feeling that it would be during the school festival."

"Oh? How do you figure?"

"There will be many more people from outside the Academy visiting and most of the students will be distracted by their own activities. It would likely be an easy task for mother to slip in undetected." He explained. It was true, with everything happening everywhere.

The students weren't actually required to do anything or host activities, but the Academy offered extra credits for effort and success of any student-made attractions. Regardless of time and place, there are fewer things students love more than extra credits.

"That makes sense. Thanks for the warning." I said with a nod. I blinked when the subject actually brought something up I never thought about. "But there is something I'm wondering about."

"What is it?"

"Has your mother ever met or spoken to Marie in person?" I couldn't help but snort in amusement at the faces Julius was making at that moment. I wished that I had a camera. "Ah, looks like I won't be the only one getting a visit from her then."

The rest of the guys worriedly asked why Julius was so pale when we finally caught up to them at the cafeteria. I might not even have been the one in actual hot water when the Queen showed up.

A couple of days later, I finally had a chance to relax and have tea with Angie and Clarice. Livia was originally there as well, but she excused herself in a hurry. When Clarice asked her why she couldn't spare a few minutes to hang out, my best friend just smiled apologetically.

"I'm going to study at the library. There are a few things from Magic Studies that I'm having trouble with." The three of us easily accepted the excuse. Magic Studies was pretty hard, even the material for First Years. It wasn't a surprise that Livia was having challenges with the subject.

"So any advice to not make myself look like an ass in front of the Queen?" I asked my two–Friends? Girlfriends? Angie and Clarice! I asked them while I poured us all some tea.

"Well, Angie would know more about the Queen since she spent a few years learning etiquette at the Palace." Clarice confidently stated as she ate some sweets I prepared.

Angie nodded after thanking me for the tea. "Indeed. As a lesson in propriety and humility, I spent an extended amount of time working as Queen Mylene's personal maid."

Wait, really? A Duke's daughter being told to serve as a maid? How did that even work? Did Angie walk around in a maid unifor–

"You're imagining Angie in a maid uniform aren't you?" My expression was as granite when Clarice asked that question.

"You can't prove anything." Clarice just smiled wider in response.

"I wouldn't mind wearing one for you, if that is what you wish." Angie immediately said with a happy smile. Excuse me? Miss Redgrave? Should you really be so enthused about dressing up as a servant?

"See that? Aren't you happy to have a woman like Angie be so willing to do that?" Clarice asked in a passionate voice while embracing Angie from the side. "If you want, we can even both be your maids for a while and tend to your every need."

"Did you have to phrase it like that?!" I asked, my face feeling hot. All Clarice did was just to waggle her eyebrows at me. Angie was blushing but wasn't giving even a bit of resistance. Hello? Angie? Your friend just implied something pretty risque.

"As long as we don't take things too far…" My face felt like it was on fire with the way she shyly trailed off like that. Even Clarice was surprised that she was actually willing to–

"Okay, back on topic. Queen. Visit. Help." I struggled to say through gritted teeth. Clarice thankfully let Angie go and the two of them took a moment to recompose themselves. I took that chance to move my seat closer to the table for purely innocent reasons and not to hide anything incriminating from view.

"If it truly is just her wanting to talk to you about what happened, then you should be honest and respectful to her." Angie said when she got ahold of herself again. She then went on to talk more about the Queen and her background.

"Wait, she's not from Holfort originally?" I asked in surprise. I never really looked too deep into the character lore in the game outside the important ones, so it was a surprise.

Turned out that Queen Mylene was actually from the United Kingdom of Repard. It was a smaller country that was made up of several even smaller states that banded together because of certain circumstances. The Queen's family was one of the ruling houses of Repard and she was apparently sent to Holfort to marry the King so the two nations would be bound by marriage.

I blinked when I realized something that I might be able to use. "So she never attended the Academy then?"

"I don't think so, why?" Angie's head tilted cutely at my question.

"You think she's ever attended a Tea Party before?" I followed up as I bit into a biscuit. Clarice and Angie looked at each other in alarm before they both leaned forward on the table. I actually jumped a bit in surprise at their action.

"Leon, please don't try to seduce the Queen." The two of them said at the same time. Wait, what?!

"What? No! That's crazy! I was just wondering if she ever experienced it before!" I quickly protested. They seemed to calm down, marginally, due to how alarmed I was at their words.

Angie pouted at me a bit but then looked contemplative. "Unlikely. She married the King quite young. It actually makes her competency at managing the kingdom's affairs more impressive."

"Isn't that the King's job?" I mean, that was the job description wasn't it?

"I'm not sure myself but, when I served as her maid, I couldn't help but feel that Queen Mylene was quite overworked." She frowned as she looked to the side, recalling a memory. Aha! I clapped when I saw the opening!

"Well, if that has continued then wouldn't it be better if she had a place to relax for a bit? Maybe vent about how stressful work can be?" I suggested as I deeply understood the feeling of being forced to take a workload that was way above what you were supposed to be responsible for.

My smile faltered when the two of them looked at me blankly before sighing at the same time.

"Leon, you realize that way of thinking is what got this whole thing started?" Clarice pointed out while gesturing to the three of us. I mean, she was technically correct.

The circumstances were totally different though!

"I'm not going to try to seduce a woman old enough to be my mom, c'mon!" I asserted with a shake of my head. "I just don't know what else to do. My best skill outside piloting Black Getter is hosting Tea Parties!"

The two girls still seemed skeptical about the whole thing even after our Tea Party ended. Seriously! She's literally married to the King of Holfort! The hell would make her interested in a kid like me?!

One of the things that I wanted to make sure I was able to do while at the Academy was to be able to practice piloting. Unfortunately, my higher rank still did not afford me special treatment in terms of Armor storage space. Fortunately, Control had a pretty nifty solution to that.

I smiled as I looked at the large angular black box that was now placed in the space that my personal Armor would have, if I had a regular sized one. It was as large as Black Getter's head, which made sense as it was actually a piloting simulator. Control immediately suggested bringing a simulator here when I brought up my concern on getting more piloting hours. It was originally located in the lab but we managed to transplant it here. Control even made modifications to ensure that it was portable. Well, relatively portable. I did have to pay a premium to be able to safely move it from the Nagare's hangar to the school, but it was all worth it.

When I asked why we didn't do this the first time I got to the Academy, Control just pointed out that we didn't know about the storage capacity situation at the Academy so it might have been a waste of time and effort at the time.

Hello, Leon. Do you feel any discomfort?

"Nope. Feels just like Black Getter's cockpit." I said, adjusting my seat to the way I liked it. "Say, where have you been recently anyway? Researching more cultural stuff?"

In a manner of speaking. I am presently investigating something that I have noticed recently.

"Anything dangerous?" I asked with a raised brow.

I can safely say that it is something that will never harm you or those you love.

Strangely specific, but okay. "Well if you need help, I'm here."

The offer is noted and appreciated.

"So how is this thing being powered anyway? I didn't see any power cables leading anywhere." I asked as the screens started lighting up to a gentle blue standby screen that had the Saotome Research Lab logo on it.

Don't worry about it.

Of course.

"Right, what's on the menu?" I asked stretching out. I didn't wear my pilot suit in the simulator at Control's suggestion. They noted that I might not always be able to wear it when I launch with Black Getter, like in emergencies and stuff.

Since you have an acceptable grasp of the controls, I am hoping to move forwards to actual combat simulations.

"Oh? Against what? Armors?" I asked, gripping the levers and feeling a bit excited.

I presently do not have enough data on Armors to be able to construct simulation scenarios featuring them.

A bit disappointing, but it made sense. "Okay, then what'll I be going up against?"

The things that I do have extensive data on. The Enemies of Humanity.

"So the things the other Getter pilots fought against." I asked, getting nervous about the whole thing.

Correct. We will be going through different types. Ideally, it will only take about a week for you to clear each scenario.

"A monster a week huh?" I asked with a chuckle, remembering the old Sentai shows I watched as a kid.

We will start off with a relatively straightforward foe.

The screens changed and I suddenly found myself in the sky. A very modern looking city was situated below me. I had almost forgotten what buildings from Earth looked like. Black Getter's warning tones got my attention and I looked up to see what I was going to be up against.

"That is a flying saucer with two sauropod heads coming out the sides." I blankly observed as the thing moved closer. The monster then spotted me and decided that it took offense to my presence. "Why are there lasers coming out of their mouths?!"

Don't worry about it.

 

[Blackraptor]

"I regret every decision I've made that made me reach this point in my life!" I grit out as I tried to avoid another combination of corrosive acid and eye lasers. The weird UFO sauropod thing wasn't as dangerous as I thought it was, especially after all the practice I had in flying during the summer.

The next two monsters didn't really pose much of a challenge either. One was just a skeleton guy with a red vest and scythes for horns and another was just a two headed green monster that shoots yellow lasers from their mouths. When I asked about them, Control said that those two were monsters that appeared when the dimensional boundaries became weaker due to a certain incident. They were really durable but they didn't really do much else. It didn't help them that they couldn't fly either. A few careful applications of Getter Tomahawks with hit and run tactics and they both went down pretty easily.

I jokingly asked Control if they had any harder monsters for me to fight. I shouldn't have done that based on the words they said next.

Very well. Allow me to challenge you with a foe that gave the Getter Team of that era a more difficult time. This was a monster that also came from a dimensional incident.

When I first saw it, I actually laughed out loud. It was just a giant turtle looking thing with a spike on its back and six insect legs. It didn't look like it could fly, so I just started throwing tomahawks at it.

That was my first mistake.

It turned out that it's body was a lot more durable than I thought. Some of the tomahawks connected, but they weren't able to bite deep into the monster's hide. That was when the monster started eating the tomahawks on the ground. As it ate, the body started getting bigger and bigger. I decided to stop messing around and flew right at it with a pair of tomahawks in Black Getter's hands. It responded by moving way faster on the ground than it had any right to while spitting acid at me and firing lasers from its eyes, which led to my current problem.

It managed to keep me from flying around it by somehow being able to turn on a dime and reorient itself fast enough to face me. Every time I tried to take a swipe at it, the monster's jaws were there to meet me with acid or just trying to take a bite from my weapons directly.

"Control! I gotta have something that can take this thing on, right?" I yelled out while using the buildings as cover. They didn't really last long, either melted by acid or just run through by the monster that was now way bigger than I was.

Black Getter F does have several weapons that would be useful in this situation. Unfortunately, since you wished for a challenge, they are weapons you presently do not have certifications for.

I hate past me so much!

"Oh no!" I gasped when the monster stopped trying to run me down. Instead, it decided to double back and keep eating the rest of the tomahawks I had thrown at it. I flew at it at top speed and was about to strike, when it suddenly turned red and a giant hand shot out of its body and wrapped around Black Getter's head. The screens turned red before swiftly going black.

Do you wish to challenge Gilgilgan again?

I covered my face with my hands. "No, thank you. I would like to request that we go back to the regular progression that you had originally planned out, please."

Very well.

Control could be downright savage when they wanted to.

Eventually, the School Festival finally commenced. I didn't really feel like making any attractions as I was busy preparing for the Queen's visit. However, Daniel and Raymond managed to tempt me with those sweet extra credits that the school dangled over everyone's heads. It was far too late to make something but we knew other people who did, people who might appreciate some extra hands.

"Leon Fou Bartfort!" Marie called out when she spotted us approach her and the boys. "Are you here to get in my way yet again?!"

I sighed and looked at her boy-harem, silently asking them why they fell in love with this girl. I looked back down at the indignant gremlin and shook my head. "Stop making it sound like I'm your nemesis, it's weird."

Julius explained to Marie that Daniel, Raymond, and myself are just extra hands to help out. The girl pouted and said that she wouldn't be paying us for our services even if we helped. That was totally fine with us as we were just there for the extra credits. We weren't really strapped for cash anymore.

"This is literally just a Host Club." I muttered when they showed me what exactly Marie had planned for the festival. I glanced at Marie when I noticed her looking at me with wide eyes. "What?"

"How do you know that?" she whispered. I grinned and shrugged at her.

"Why do you think, Chibi-usa?"

"I'm not that shor–" she caught herself when she realized what I had just said. I just let her chew on that and turned to the boys instead. I would have been worried that they'd be jealous of my interaction with Marie if they didn't already know that their collective love interest wasn't my type at all.

"So I'm pretty sure that the three of us won't cut it up front, but we can prepare orders for you guys so you can focus on the customers." I suggested and was met with no complaints from the others, even Marie.

Myself and the guys were all in the back, unpacking supplies and tea sets, when the curtain that separated the work area from the back suddenly opened to reveal a mildly irritated Jenna. No Miauler this time though.

"Jenna!" Daniel happily exclaimed. "What are you doi–"

The poor guy was cut off when my older sister suddenly got up to his face. "What are you doing here? You said that you would be showing me around the school festival."

"Well, yeah. But I wasn't sure if you wanted to look around on the first day so early." He quickly answered. The madman didn't even back away or look intimidated. He just stood there, smiling at my sister.

"Of course I wanted you to show me around as soon as you could!" Jenna scolded Daniel before taking his hand and turning to me. "I'll be borrowing this idiot for the rest of the day."

Without another word, Jenna just up and dragged Daniel away.

"I guess Daniel will be helping out starting tomorrow then?" Brad joked and we all laughed at his expense, though he didn't seem like he minded his situation at all.

"Speaking of tomorrow, I have confirmed that my mother will be visiting the festival during that time as well." Julius said to me. "Best be prepared for her to track you down, Leon."

"Don't worry. I managed to get briefed on her by Angie. I'll be sure to treat her with the respect and dignity she deserves." I assured him with a smile and a thumbs up. It took a bit of looking, but I managed to find some really high end tea thanks to the Academy's Master of Gentlemanly Ways.

"I…thank you, Leon." Julius looked both surprised and relieved at my words. "That honestly means a lot to me."

"Please stop having such a heartwarming bromance back there. We need to have all this set up as soon as possible." Marie flatly said as she peeked from the other side of the curtain.

The School Festival proper was underway. As expected, Marie's High School Host Club was a big hit with the female students as well as several visitors. Angie and Clarice didn't visit as expected, but Livia did stop by to say hello and assure me that she would be accompanying them while I was helping out Julius and the boys. The fact that I was sure that the two other girls would be more than happy to have a festival date with Livia probably should have bothered me more, but it didn't.

Speaking of dating.

"So, any luck on the Tea Party front on your end?" I asked Raymond as we prepared more tea and snacks that Marie called out from the other side of the curtain.

"Yeah, actually!" My friend happily began after handing Chris a tray of sweets when the spectacled guy peeked in. "I followed your advice from the end-of-term party and sent out invitations to the higher year girls. I've managed to successfully have Tea Parties with a girl from the second year a few times now. We'll actually walk around the festival tomorrow."

"My man!" Customary high-five done, I was eager to know more. "Got a name?"

"Yep! She's from a Barony in the south, her name is Artesia and she is a really nice gir–you okay there Leon?" He asked when I suddenly became pale. I slowly walked up to him and placed both hands on his shoulders.

"Please don't tell me that she has an older brother who is incredibly charismatic and a generational talent in Armor combat." He blinked at the worry in my voice. Please just say no.

"That's…really specific. No, she has a younger sister who's still just a toddler. You okay?" I sighed in relief before sitting down on one of the boxes that held some tea supplies.

"I'm totally fine, man! Don't worry about it!" I happily assured him. I would have lost my mind if I had to worry about any possible Red Comets flying around. I was genuinely happy that Raymond found himself a nice girl though.

My shift at Marie's High School Host Club ended without any incident and I spent the rest of the day preparing for my meeting with the Queen.

You seem rather serious in this endeavor.

I snorted at their comment as I adjusted the table I was going to use for the Tea Party I had planned just right. "Control, it's the Queen."

Quite. With that in mind, I have independently researched some customs from the United Kingdom of Repard that she may appreciate.

"You think so?" I asked, very much interested in what they had to offer.

I very much doubt that the Queen has been greeted in their customary manner since she was wed to the King. Nostalgia can be a powerful way to remind people of simpler times.

"I know all about that." I chuckled, remembering all the retro-style games that were so popular back on Earth. "Okay, what have you found?"

…

Mylene Rapha Holfort happily walked among the people of her Kingdom alongside her dear Angie and her two friends. She was familiar with Clarice but it was the first time she had actually met the Special Scholarship Student. Olivia was just a darling! She hoped that Erica would grow up to be as sweet a girl as her!

"I'm glad." She spoke up as the four of them walked around the Academy grounds.

"Your majesty?" Angie whispered at her side. The other two girls also looked curious at my sudden words.

"I can't imagine what you and Clarice had gone through because of my son and Jilk. I am so relieved that both of you look so happy now." And she meant it as well. She already had words with her son about it and he seemed genuinely regretful at how poorly he treated Angie.

The girl that stole him away on the other hand…

"Leon has that effect on people." Olivia confidently spoke up, interrupting her thoughts. "He reached out to me when no one else had. He did the same when he realized that Clarice and Angie were probably going through. Leon is a beacon for those who feel like they have no one else to turn to."

"While not so dramatic, it's true that Leon has been the biggest reason why Angie and I managed to emotionally heal as soon as we have. I can't even imagine what would have happened to me if he wasn't there." Clarice spoke up while wrapping her arms around Olivia.

Angie agreed with a smile and a nod. "Yes, Leon is special. A man like no other."

"Well, he seems quite loved." Mylene couldn't help but nod. She then turned to the girl who spoke out about him so passionately. "Will you become his concubine in the future then?"

"Oh no! I'm just Leon's friend!" Olivia said in a far too joyous tone than Mylene thought she should have. The girl was clearly also–

–a faithful friend. Mylene couldn't help but admire her. "How wonderful! It's always good to treasure friendships like that. Those can last a lifetime."

"I know." Olivia said with a bright smile. "Leon deserves nothing but the best."

The girls eventually led her to one of the rooms used to host what the Academy calls Tea Parties. Mylene had never experienced such a thing herself, but it all sounded so lovely! They excused themselves and went off to enjoy the festival. She couldn't help but smile at how close the three of them were.

Mylene took a breath to center herself before knocking on the door. It opened and on the other side was the smiling face of the boy who her husband knighted a few weeks ago. He gestured for her to enter and Mylene thanked him for his manners. Inside was a vision she would have only imagined before based on the tales of some of the court ladies about their days at the Academy.

Tables lined with teapots, cups, and trays of sweets. A large window with a wonderful view of the school festival below. A central table with two chairs facing each other.

Mylene couldn't help but giggle. If she was but a decade and a half younger, then she would have expected something else from all this preparation. She turned around and her words caught in her throat when she saw what Leon was doing.

Or more specifically, how he was kneeling in front of her. Down on a knee, a gloved hand over his heart, and a lowered head out of respect. It was something she had not seen in over a decade that she couldn't help but feel a bit giddy about it.

"You may raise your head, Sir Bartfort." Mylene said, her mannerism slipping into practiced ease like she had never left her home. "Your Queen greets you."

As if he was doing it all his life, Leon smoothly looked up and took her offered hand. Mylene couldn't help the heat that spread on her face when she felt the warmth of the boy's lips as he placed a chaste kiss on the back of her hand.

A tiny, traitorous part of her mind lamented that she had not been wearing gloves for the occasion.

"You have studied up on my people's customs." Mylene observed and got a smile as the boy stood up.

"I like to be prepared for certain things." He said while giving a more relaxed, if exaggerated, bow. "Welcome to the Academy, your majesty."

She couldn't help but smile at how nice he was being. "Thank you, Sir Leon."

"While I know that I can't really ask for your favor as I understand what that would mean," Mylene stiffened at his words, knowing exactly what he was talking about. To ask a lady their favor in Repard was to ask to become their devoted protector in all ways. "I would like to offer you something instead."

"And what would that be?"

"A place of safety, comfort, and an ear to listen to your troubles." Okay, now she knew that her face was blushing! Just what was this boy saying?! To a married woman! To a mother! To his Queen!

"Umm…" He didn't seem to hear her and proceeded to walk towards the tables that he likely prepared himself.

"Now, Angie told me that you've never had the chance to experience a Tea Party before."

Mylene blinked, Angie talked to him about that? "That is correct."

"Well, before we start with all the serious talk, allow me to provide you with top-of-the-line service as one of the students of the Art of Tea." He offered with arms out wide and a big smile on his face. "Please do play along, your majesty."

Play along? With what?

"Oh, hello there miss! I didn't notice you there." Mylene blinked when Leon addressed her again. What? What was going on?! "You must be a transfer student. From the rumors, I would guess Repard?"

Transfer student? Oh! Play along! "Umm…yes!"

"I see. Then allow me to welcome you to Holfort, my name is Leon. May I have yours, miss…" He continued while walking towards her. Why was her heart beating so fast?!

"Mylene." WHY DID SHE SOUND SO TIMID?!

"Mylene. Yes, a lovely name for a lovely girl." Leon walked up to the chair nearest to her and pulled it out and offered the seat to her. "Then allow me to show you delights that you have never experienced before! Please! Take a seat! By my guest!"

Hawawawawawawa~!

 

[Blackraptor]

Wow! The Queen was a way better actor than I had ever expected! She had the whole Shy Transfer Student role locked down!

She daintily accepted the offered seat and I swiftly moved to serve her the tea that the Master of Gentlemanly Arts recommended. With all the grace I had, I smoothly poured her a perfect cup as well as arranged an assortment of tasteful companion snacks alongside it. I had to be flawless. My pride allowed for no less!

"This tea!" I smiled when I got the reaction I wanted from her.

"I never expected that I would ever actually have the opportunity to serve tea native to Repard." I explained. It was the high-end tea I got from The Master when I asked for any blends that would be delightful for someone from Repard. "However, I was recommended to keep them and I am glad I did. It's almost like fate that you would come by just as I was going to try it."

"Fate?! You believe in fate?!" The Queen, or just 'Mylene' right now, squeaked out just as she was reaching for a biscuit.

I chuckled and reached out to place my hand on the one that she wasn't using to hold anything. "To an extent. I still put more stock in the belief that we make our own fates, but there are just some meetings where you have to wonder if a higher power had a hand in it."

"We are fated to meet like this…" Oh wow, she was really getting red.

"I would like to think so." I gave her hand a squeeze before withdrawing mine, her gaze lingering on the one that I held. "But please tell me more about yourself, Mylene. I have never met anyone from Repard and I relish the opportunity to know more about you."

The rest of the surprise Tea Party went at a far more relaxed pace after my Big Opener. Mylene became more candid at talking about her life in Repard. I supposed that she was telling me an edited version of her upbringing, obviously leaving out the events that led to her becoming the Queen of Holfort. The thing that started to alarm me as the Tea Party continued was how more casually she smiled, giggled, and touched my hand as we talked more and more. In a complete reversal of our earlier interaction, I was the one who was becoming more conscious of her! After I took a metaphorical step back and actually took in the woman I was speaking to, I couldn't help but realize one unequivocal truth.

Mylene Rapha Holfort was the Perfect Woman.

She was literally flawless in my personal opinion. The way her immaculate eyes crinkled when she laughed, how she would run her fingers through her sparkling hair when she was telling a story, the way her divinely sculpted body would move whenever she reached out to get something on the table. There was only a single impartial conclusion I could come up with after being witness to such a vision:

King Roland Rapha Holfort was the luckiest bastard on the planet!

No! Stop it Leon! She's literally Julius' mom! He trusted you to treat her with respect and dignity! You also promised Angie and Clarice not to try to seduce her! Resist! Resist!

Then she stood up, moved around the table, leaned over, and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you Sir Bartfort, for giving me the chance to live out such a wonderful dream." Crap! Was I falling in love with the one woman I really shouldn't?!

Julius, Angie, and Clarice must never know.

"Y-you too…" I stammered out. She blinked and giggled at me while going back to her seat.

"While this has been quite a joy, I would like to actually accomplish what I came here for in the first place." Ah, she was back to being the Queen. What a damn sham–I mean, that's great! Less complications for literally everyone involved!

"Of course, your majesty. This is about the things surrounding the duel at the end of the last term?" She nodded, her expression becoming more like what I expected a powerful Queen would have. "What would you like to know?"

The next hour was spent with me recounting the events from my perspective, as well as explaining my reasonings for my actions. Queen Mylene listened intently, her expression not betraying anything until I was done talking about my move to ask Duke Redgrave for assistance in the aftermath.

"It was wise of you to immediately seek out an ally." She commented with a nod. "Tell me, Sir Bartfort. Do you hold any contempt towards my son? You are allowed to speak plainly."

Ah, of course she would worry for Julius. "Not anymore. We managed to deal with most of our animosity in the duel itself. After we talked about the situation, we both pretty much have been able to move past it."

"You have been speaking with Julius?" The surprise in her voice was obvious. Huh, Julius never told her?

"Who do you think warned me about your visit?" I asked and saw her brow furrow in thought.

"Yeah, like I told them. The only reason why I hated his highness and Jilk at the time was because of how they treated their ex-fiancées." I continued and thought about my interactions with the guy after we cleared the air, as it were. "He has been a nice guy ever since and it would be stupid if I still held a grudge."

"I see. I'm relieved." God, she's beautiful when she smi–STOP IT! I closed my eyes and took a breath to get my focus back. "I've also spoken to Angie and Clarice. Thank you for helping them through that ordeal. I can tell that you have fully captured both of their hearts."

Oh wow, that made me feel like an asshole. Falling all over myself for another woman when I haven't even settled my feelings for two great girls. "Ah, well. I'm still working out how good of a man I can actually be for them. They seem oddly fine with me taking them both as my wives, but you can understand how intimidating that can be to any one man?"

"I can see that. However, please do not sell yourself short. Your friend Olivia had nothing but praise for you, Sir Bartfort." Ah, yes. The girl who was now more than just the main protagonist of the setting for me.

"Well, Livia is like the best friend I could have asked for."

With the serious stuff out of the way, our meeting had pretty much run its course. I did have one more thing that I wanted to ask her though. It was something my dad told me after I got my new rank.

"I just wanted to confirm, your majesty. Did the crown promote me to the rank of Viscount just so they can tax me more because I beat up Prince Julius?" Oh wow, she just up and stumbled on literally nothing. Good thing she didn't fall over.

"Of course not! That was a legitimate promotion for your achievements!" Queen Mylene exclaimed indignantly, though I did notice her having a bit of a hard time looking me in the eye as she spoke. At least it didn't seem like her intention.

"It was a pleasure to host you, your majesty." I said with another bow when I walked her to the door.

"Thank you for having me, Sir Bartfort." She responded magnanimously.

I coughed into my fist when I remembered something that I said earlier. "The offer I made before was serious, by the way."

"Angie told me how much work you take on. If you need a place to relax and take it easy, I'll be more than happy to host you again. Maybe even have Angie, Clarice, and Livia along for more company." I elaborated when she looked perplexed. Her eyes widened and she suddenly spun so all I could see was her back. Oh no, did I overstep?! Is she pissed off that a kid like me even considered–

"A continuation of my dream?" I blinked at the soft voice I heard from her. Ah, if that was what she specifically wanted.

"Well, I wouldn't mind having tea with 'Mylene' again." I answered and saw her shoulders hitch. She was quiet for a few moments and I had to strain my ears to hear something she was muttering.

"Ah…if only…a dream." I couldn't hear it all but she quickly turned back around and smiled at me. "I shall consider it. If you would excuse me, I wish to visit my son and speak to the girl he has risked so much for."

Queen Mylene then opened the door and walked out purposefully into the hallway, right in the direction where the Host Club was located. Uh-oh. Good luck Julius! Have fun Chibi-Usa!

I was cleaning up everything in the room when I heard someone knocking on the door. That was weird. Angie, Clarice, and Livia should still have been out and about the festival. Julius was probably being grilled by the Queen and the rest of the boys were likely still at the Host Club as well. It couldn't be Jenna because she never knocks. Was it Marie desperate for a place to hide? I walked up to the door and opened it to reveal a girl I had never seen before, one who had long dark blue hair with matching eyes.

"If you're looking for the Host Club with Prince Julius and his entourage, it's down the hall that way." I pointed in the direction of said attraction. I didn't know why she would be lost, there were literally signs for the place.

The mystery girl shook her head and spoke up. "I'm actually here hoping to speak with you, Viscount Bartfort."

"You have a name?" I asked, immediately on edge with the way she used my noble title to address me.

"Of course, Viscount." The girl formally bowed and introduced herself. "My name is Clara Fou Wayne. Our house is a poor Baronetcy and I come before you in a time of great need."

Well, the way she was talking raised all sorts of red flags. I gestured for her to enter the room and closed the door behind her. What sort of nonsense was waiting for me this time?

"Well, if you're planning on assassinating me, this would be the perfect time to do so." She actually looked panicked when I told her that. Hm, actually her name reminds me of something.

"I would never do that, Viscount Bartfort! Not to the only one who can give salvation to my family and our people!" Wow, she was being really dramatic over all this. It's been a while since I felt like people were talking the same way as the game.

I sighed and sat down on a chair and gestured for her to do the same. Of course, instead of doing something reasonable like that, Clara instead took a knee right in front of me. "Please Viscount Bartfort. I implore you to save us from a band of sky pirates that has been harassing our territory for over a year now."

Wayne. Sky Pirates. I immediately remembered the event. How could I not? It was the one that officially locked you to a love interest for the rest of the game. On top of that, it was the event that gave you the first of the three Saint relics.

The Saint's Necklace.

I narrowed my eyes as it was something that shouldn't have happened until our Second Year. It was used as a major turning point in the story to reveal the main protagonist's capacity to become the next Saint, as well as introducing the first Armor upgrade for the love interest you chose the route of.

"And you want me to get rid of those pirates for you?" I asked with a raised brow while crossing my legs. "For free?"

"Of course not! My father will reward you handsomely for your service!" I narrowed my eyes at the girl, who started to fidget. I couldn't remember everything about the game anymore, but I did remember that the only real thing you got from that event was the loot from the pirates and the necklace. No actual quest rewards were given out by anyone else.

"Your family has enough resources to give a Viscount a commensurate reward befitting their rank for helping your house, but you didn't think of just hiring Adventurers or Mercenaries to do it instead?" I tore through her reasoning. Nobility weren't guns for hire that others could just pick out for a job. Rank, reputation, and honor were the least that should have been considered before even approaching another house. It was why I was prepared to grovel at the feet of Angie's dad with a small fortune as capital.

On the other hand, a Baronet's daughter approaching a Viscount with nothing but words violated all sorts of protocols, both written and unwritten.

"M-my father…" She flinched when I scowled at her. It wasn't because of what she said. It was because of the temptation of getting a Saint Artifact early. Dammit!

"I'll do it." I ultimately decided.

"Huh?" Clara looked up at me like I just told her the secret of life's happiness.

I sighed and walked back to the door, opening it. "I'll make preparations to deal with the issue during the holiday after the School Festival. The details will be provided to you once I finalize everything."

"Th-thank you, Viscount Bartfort!" The girl quickly bowed and got out of the room. She was probably terrified that I would change my mind if she hung around any longer.

"What do you think, Control? Aside from this being one big trap?" I blinked when there was no response at all. "Control?"

Huh, they must still be out investigating what they told me about last time.

That was fine. I thought about the situation more and smiled to myself. "Well, Clara never said I had to do this alone."

I wondered how Julius and the boys would feel about bullying a bunch of Sky Pirates over the holiday?

…

Mylene Rapha Holfort laid on her bed alone that night. It was a situation she had become used to over the years, with her and her husband having separate rooms in different parts of the Palace. She thought back to the day she had and frowned at all the mixed feelings that it brought forth.

The girl, Marie. The one that Julius had bravely declared to dedicate his life to, even though he could not officially be with her. She had some wit and charisma about her. Not enough to survive court, but the potential was there for her to become more. That she also knew healing magic was a positive. She sighed when she remembered the words her son said about that small girl.

If only Roland showed even a fraction of that devotion.

She tossed and turned in her bed, the silence of the night providing little comfort for her. She felt herself smile a bit when she recalled Angie, Clarice, and Olivia. They were such good girls and were blessed to have someone like Leon with them. Two of them would likely be lucky enough to marry the boy–man–one day.

She lightly touched her lips and remembered that one impulsive action she did. The look on Leon's face was quite adorable and–Mylene shook her head. She had to stop thinking of him like that! He was Julius' age! She was married! He already had plenty of younger women vying for his attention! She–

She only had one thing. Mylene allowed herself one wistful smile as she closed her eyes.

She dreamt of being an ordinary girl who stumbled into true love one sunny day during the school festival.

 

[Blackraptor]

"Excuse me? Do any of you have any reason for interrupting Sir Leon and myself?" Karen Fou Offrey asked as she pretty much sat on my lap in one of the couches of the Host Club. Angie and Clarice glared at her while Livia stared expressionlessly. The boys, Marie, and the other customers looked on in varying degrees of worry.

Allow me to explain how this whole thing started.

It was the final day of the school festival and it was the day where lots of school sponsored events were held. Typically, they were competitions where students could showcase their talents to their peers and to guests from outside the Academy. One of those events was an Airbike race that was held in the morning. At the mention of that event, I immediately tracked down Jenna and talked her into betting on a little known Dark Horse that was going to compete.

Jilk Fia Marmoria

One of the major events in the game that guaranteed a really big payout in money and affection for the love interest in question was that very airbike race. I didn't really care about the affection points, but not betting on Jilk would be leaving money on the table that Marie would likely rake in without any resistance. Like hell I was going to let that gremlin get all the money!

My sister was now smart enough not to question me when it came to gambling on very specific things. The seriousness of my voice and expression was more than enough for her to agree. I was going to join her at the bookies but was dragged away by Brad and Greg to the Host Club instead.

No! My money! I had to gamble!

"Come on! You can't possibly need more money after that big payout when you beat all of us last term." Greg told me with a laugh when I told them about the airbike race betting. You don't understand Greg! It's not about needing more money! It's about having more money! My complaints went silent and I immediately went on high alert when I saw Julius and Chris waiting in the Host Club with a fresh black suit neatly folded on the table.

"With Jilk competing, we need a fifth man to complete the roster for the cafe. Marie recommended you and we saw the wisdom in her idea." Julius explained when he noticed my gaze. I glanced around and saw the gremlin smiling and giving me a thumbs up. After getting peer pressured into the suit, I found myself lined up alongside the boys in the main area of the Host Club. Daniel and Raymond snickered and patted my back when I changed in the back area while they were preparing the supplies for the day. Damn them both!

Thankfully, I was more or less ignored by the customers as they chose to be served by any of the other availble guys instead. That was totally fine with me! Please continue to ignore me until Jilk wins and comes back! Man, I wish I was out there betting on him instead of being stuck here! Jenna must have been having the time of her life!

"I would like to be served by Sir Leon Fou Bartfort." I blinked and turned at the mention of my name. The girl who chose me had dark blonde hair with matching eyes, her hair being styled in a pair of looped side braids. I looked at Marie, who was the one in charge of admission, and she gave me another grin and a thumbs up. What was I expecting?

I got the girl's order and returned to her with some snacks and fresh tea. Regardless of my personal feelings, I had to be a good host. My pride would allow no less. "Your order, miss…"

"Karen. Karen Fou Offrey." She told me her name with a smile while reaching out to pull me onto the couch. She also had three demi-human servants standing at attention nearby as well. Sheesh, talk about flaunting your wealth.

Wait a minute. Offrey? Wasn't that the name of–I glanced to where Brad was and saw him giving me a pitying look. Oh no. This was a girl that Brad Fou Field didn't want anything to do with.

"A lovely name, my lady." I responded, deciding to just get through the experience and end it as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the girl had other plans as she up and lifted herself off the couch and proceeded to sit on my lap sideways. "Umm, there is plenty of space on the couch, my lady."

She bared her teeth in a grin as she wiggled her butt on my lap. "I think I like this seating arrangement better. It lets me get a proper feel for the man who defeated the crown prince and his entourage."

"Feed me a piece of cake, my dear." She said in an overly cutesy voice, one of her hands reaching out and stroking my chest through the suit.

I need an adult!

Must! Remain! Gentlemanly!

I expertly cut a piece of cake with the supplied fork and offered it to Karen. The girl delighted in eating it and, of course, she also made me hold the cup that she drank her tea from.

"I believe that this is not part of the standard service for this establishment." I felt my heart stop when I heard the barely restrained anger in Angie's voice. I looked in the direction of the doors and saw her, Clarice, and Livia just inside and looking right at my current situation.

"If it is, then I'm pretty sure that Leon's lap is already reserved for me and Angie." Clarice spoke like it was a joke, but her smile didn't really look very happy at all. Marie wisely scurried away to the back area while the rest of the guys looked between each other in uncertainty.

And we're pretty much caught up! What a fantastic situation!

"Well, it's not my fault that you two can't hang on to your man." Karen taunted the two girls even as she wrapped her arms around my neck. "But I guess you both have a lot of experience with that, huh?"

Clarice's smile vanished immediately while Angie looked like she was actually just going to murder the girl. Livia stayed silent in the back but her flat gaze never left Karen's face. Julius also frowned and nodded to the rest of the boys to intervene.

To everyone's surprise, before things could escalate, I cradled the girl in my arms and lifted her off the couch in a bridal carry.

She squealed in delight and clung onto me even tighter. "See that? Sir Leon can tell which one of us is worth his time and–"

That was as far as she got before I dropped her on the floor like a sack of flour. Karen grunted in pain as her demi-human slaves immediately went to her aid. Everyone was looking at me in surprise as I moved to stand between her and the girls she was insulting.

"I apologize, my lady. But such behavior is not tolerated in this establishment. Please vacate as soon as possible." I flatly said as I gestured towards the door where a bunch of onlookers had started gathering from the hallway.

"Why?!" The now very angry girl shrieked out while pointing at the girls behind me. "You'd rather choose these two failures over me?!"

The sound my foot made as it stomped on the floor echoed in the room. Karen backed away and took shelter behind her slaves when I snarled at her. "If you don't shut up and stop insulting my fiancées, then I'll tear your throat out myself!"

"How dare you! You're just a Viscount! I'm the daughter of an Earl!" She didn't sound happy about that at all and her slaves looked like they were about ready to throw down with me. That was fine with me! I felt like cracking some heads anyway!

"Correct," Julius cut through the tension and made his presence known. He and the boys stepped forward towards us. "You are just the daughter of an Earl. I would choose your next action in my presence very carefully, Miss Offrey."

"If you wanted to pick a fight with Leon, you chose a really bad place to do it in." Greg added with a vicious smile. Chris nodded in agreement while Brad just looked at Karen like she was garbage. Karen and her slaves looked very uncertain when they realized who else was in the room. A weird rush went through me when it finally dawned that Julius and the boys were actually standing up for me. What a strange yet totally welcome turn of events!

The piece of trash girl cut her losses and beat a hasty retreat, pushing past the crowd outside the room along with her slaves. I closed my eyes and took a few breaths to calm myself down. It was over.

I then opened my eyes when I heard someone actually start slow-clapping. I looked around and saw that it was Raymond, with Daniel following soon after. "Congratulations man!"

Congratulations? For what? I looked at everyone else and they also started clapping with smiles on their faces. All this for telling off a shitty customer? I should do that more! I turned to Angie and Clarice and saw that both of them had their mouths agape, red faced, and completely still. I looked past them and saw Livia clapping with a look of unrestrained joy.

"Leon! You dog!" Greg approached me with a bark of laughter. "You should have told us that you chose both of them!"

What?

"To boldly declare both Miss Angelica and Miss Clarice as your fiancées while threatening the fool who insulted their honor." Chris commented with a rare smile. "I expected nothing less."

Wait, declare Angie and Clarice as my–

"I'm glad that you chose them both, Leon. I'm certain that you will be able to make them very happy." Julius said in no small amount of pride and relief while he shook my hand. My eyes widened when I remembered what exactly I said to Karen. I was about to speak out when Angie slammed into me, wrapped her arms around my neck and–man, her lips are soft.

"Hey now, Angie. He's mine too." I heard Clarice say as Angie finally let me go, only to be replaced by another girl. My vision was swimming from the kiss so I was completely defenseless when Clarice shoved her tongue down my throat. Oh wow, so that's what that felt like.

"Hey! This isn't that kind of establishment! Knock it off!" I distractedly heard the gremlin complain from somewhere nearby. Thankfully, Clarice had enough and ended the kiss. I was still a bit dizzy but I couldn't help but see the way she and Angie were looking at me. The feeling in my heart when I saw how beautiful they were finally made me realize something.

Ah, I guess I really had fallen in love with them without noticing.

Since I was still on the clock, both Angie and Clarice partook of the opportunity to be spoiled by me as customers. They offered the same to Livia, but she happily declined and chose to speak with Marie instead. The tiny knockoff looked completely lost as the girl whose role she pretty much usurped kept asking her questions about the Host Club. Brad took a moment to apologize for the behavior of her ex-fiancée and I just patted him on the shoulder and nodded in understanding.

"I get why you ended up going after literally any other girl before you met Marie." I told him in complete sympathy. The poor guy actually teared up and gave me a hug when I said that.

Angie and Julius still had a weird energy between them, but they both respectfully kept away from each other. It looked like it would still take a lot for that relationship to be mended, if it ever would.

That was pretty much the situation Jilk came back to. Clear confusion was evident on his face when he saw me on one of the couches with Angie and Clarice happily trying to fit themselves on my lap at the same time as I struggled to feed them both cupcakes. Thankfully, neither girl commented on the physiological effect they were having on me as they squirmed around. Though, they both looked delighted when they realized what was happening to me.

Obviously, Jilk won the airbike race. Everyone congratulated him, high fives all around. Even Clarice looked happy for his win, much to his surprise. However, I knew that the real big winners were Jenna and probably Marie based on how she immediately embraced Jilk when he announced his victory. We all had a small celebration in the Host Club and had a pretty fun time.

Interestingly, one of Clarice's followers actually took second place in the overall standings. Neat. Good for him.

I broached the topic about Clara's request to the boys and they were all immediately onboard with some Sky Pirate suppression.

"We all had some work done on our Armors, so it'll be great to demonstrate our respective improvements." Julius said with a smile, the others agreeing with enthusiasm.

I extended the offer to Daniel and Raymond as well, but they declined as they presently didn't have the means to fight such enemies. Fair enough.

With Pandora's Box metaphorically opened, I spent the rest of the day having mini-dates with Angie and Clarice each. The girl who I wasn't with at the time had Livia to occupy them with. I first went out walking around the school festival with Clarice, with us mainly visiting attractions that were explicitly for couples. Clinging onto my arm, making sure that I could feel her softness as she pressed her body against me, and with an expression like she had just won in life.

"How do these even work?" I idly asked as we slowly spun around in a magic version of a teacup ride. The main difference was that the individual teacups being ridden were actually floating in the air. "How do they prevent people from crashing into each other?"

"Who cares? Time to spin!" Clarice declared to my alarm before she started spinning us around faster and faster. "Leon loves me! Woooooo!"

The sun was just starting to set when we met up with Livia and Angie. Clarice gave me one more mind melting kiss before tagging in Angie and dragging Livia away to who knows where. In contrast to my experience with Clarice, Angie and I walked around at a much more sedate pace. Hand in hand, fingers intertwined, her head resting on my shoulder, Angie had an expression of complete contentment.

"We can just try a different stall, Angie." I offered as my other fiancée had a look of focused determination. We were at a stall that had stuffed animal prizes for those who could knock over a certain amount of bottles with a single thrown ball. Angie had not been having the best luck at it.

"Nonsense, Leon." She waved away my concern as well as ignoring the increasingly worried expression on the poor student manning the stall. "It would be an insult to my pride as a woman if I cannot even win my fiancé a prize."

Umm, Miss Redgrave? On what basis?

She eventually managed to do it, winning a stuffed lion. Angie proudly presented it to me with a look of accomplishment that was just absolutely adorable. I couldn't help but kiss her because of it, making her melt into me.

We eventually met back up with Clarice and Livia, the four of us having dinner together as the school festival drew to a close. Both girls gave me kisses when we had to go our separate ways while Livia gave me a big hug.

"I knew you could do it." My best friend whispered in my ear as she gave me one last squeeze before letting go. I watched Angie and Clarice taking Livia by a hand each as the three of them walked back to the girls' dorms.

Looks like I was going to be writing letters that'll make both Duke Redgrave and Minister Atlee very happy men.

The whole thing finally started to sink in when I entered my room. I couldn't help but feel excited by the prospect of being engaged and eventually marrying both Angie and Clarice.

From your smile, I suspect that you had fun today.

My smile got just a bit bigger when I heard Control's voice. "Hey Control! Where have you been?! You won't believe what happened today!"

You've accepted both Angelica's and Clarice's feelings. I know, I saw your dates with them earlier.

Ah, well then. "Cool."

I am happy for you, Leon. Congratulations.

"Thanks, Control. I can't even believe that this is actually happening." I told them while shaking my head. From starting out at the Academy with no prospects whatsoever to having two fiancées! I mean, come on!

I could talk to Control about the whole Sky Pirate situation tomorrow. I just wanted to savor this feeling for now.

It is the future you have chosen for yourself. There is no reason for disbelief.

"Right." I agreed with a nod. I sat on my bed and finally started to feel the fatigue kick in. "To think that none of this would have even happened if I didn't take Livia's advice during the summer break."

Control's next words made my tiredness completely vanish.

Thank you for bringing that up. I actually have something very concerning to talk to you about regarding Olivia.

 

[Blackraptor]

Olivia laid in her bed, the darkness of the room doing nothing to diminish the brightness of her smile. She could feel herself shudder in excitement as she recalled the events of the day.

——.

It was the culmination of the wish she had ever since she first met Leon.

—?

That fated moment when the green light led her to him.

—.

A simple wish, for Leon Fou Bartfort to be happy.

Th——?!

A tiny, foolish, arrogant part of her once thought that she could be the one to give him that happiness. What with his lamentations in trying to find a bride.

—!

She realized how out of touch she was when she met and got to know Angie and Clarice.

—?

She was initially jealous of how insistent Leon was with having a Tea Party with them. She was disgusted with herself as the two girls showed her nothing but kindness and affection.

—.

She knew that both Angie and Clarice were special when they insisted on becoming her friends rather than just stay as acquaintances or ignore her completely. She would come to love them both dearly.

—gie—! —!

She understood why Leon went so far for them during the duel with the Prince and his comrades.

—.

It was the moment she saw Leon's smile when she, Angie, and Clarice found him after the duel, that was when she realized that she did not deserve him. Such a person deserved better than her.

—!

Leon called her his friend, so that was what she would become. She would correct any misconceptions and end any rumor that the two of them were anything more than that.

—hy?! Le–—!!!

It didn't matter who it was. She would not allow them to have the wrong idea about her and Leon.

—?

The light showed her the way to her destiny. She would protect that destiny with everything she had.

—.

What happened to her was irrelevant.

Th——!!!

Leon will find happiness. That was all that mattered.

—nt!

Everything will be perfe–

–isten–!

–ct! She would make sure of it.

—op!

Olivia smiled and drifted off to sleep.

…

I sat listlessly on my bed after Control finished explaining the problem they managed to uncover over the course of their investigation.

"Control," I nervously began. "The fact that I don't think that Livia and I can be lovers…"

It would raise the possibility that you are also being affected. The readings I have from the health monitoring bracelet you have regarding your brain activity supports this theory.

I rubbed my temple as I struggled to comprehend everything as it was.

The video evidence as well as personal observations I have been making on the behavior of Olivia and those she has been coming in contact with. It all points to the possibility that she has been manipulating the perceptions and memories of the people around her to only perceive her as your friend.

Well, Control certainly had a way of bringing the mood down.

The high that I felt after affirming the feelings between myself, Angie, and Clarice gave way to a cold feeling at the bottom of my stomach. They said that they never brought it up before as they wanted to corroborate any observations with supporting evidence that went beyond the circumstantial.

This went beyond a rumor fading away into obscurity. What happened was so sudden, so final. It was like everyone was sure that Olivia and I were lovers one minute, then dismissing the possibility as absurd the next. Sure, my actions during the party and the duel would have changed the narrative. However, I would have expected that Angie and Clarice would be added to Olivia instead of outright replacing her. Especially with how the two were all over Livia normally.

"So you think that Livia is preventing people–us–from thinking that she and I could become lovers?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

I would actually like to try something to verify a hypothesis.

I nodded, I was willing to try anything at this point. "What is it?"

I request that you close your eyes and think of Olivia in the following context: Friendship. Hatred. Indifference. Sexual. Romance.

I trusted Control enough to do what they requested. I went through the list, some being easier than others. I gasped and opened my eyes when I fully understood the reality of the situation. The first was easy, the next two were harder, the fourth was even easier, the last one…

"It was a blank, Control." I said while looking up at the drone. "Everything up to thinking of Livia bent ov–it was just nothing after. I keep trying to think of her romantically but it's like the feeling of almost remembering something but never quite getting it."

Selective removal of an idea, a concept. With such fine and complete control. Troubling.

"Is she doing this on purpose?" I quickly asked the obvious question.

From my observations, she does not seem to be manipulating cognition deliberately. She herself may in fact be affected by it.

My face twisted in confusion. "So she's accidentally and subconsciously mind whamming everyone into thinking that the two of us are just friends?"

It seems to be the likeliest answer as I do not believe that Olivia would do this maliciously.

I agreed.

The establishment of the When, Why, and How would be the best start to resolving the issue. I already have the When.

"You do?" I blinked, that was fast.

Yes. The first minor changes started after your initial Tea Party with both Angelica and Clarice. The changes were initially insignificant and dismissible but, after retroactive observation, the pattern fits.

That far back? So she's been brainwashing literally everyone since then? I grimaced when I remembered something about the game.

"I think I know the How." I whispered. It was something that Olivia the Saint would get at the very end of the game. "It's her final skill: Compelling Voice."

I began explaining to Control what it was and what it can do. It was the final requirement for the best ending of the game. In order to avoid the bloodshed that would result in a total war between Holfort and Fanoss, Olivia would use the power of the Saint Relics and the Royal Ship to impose her will on everyone in the battlefield. She more or less asks everyone to stop fighting and they all do. Both armies. No confirmation or negotiation. Just a complete end of all activity.

That is a very dangerous ability.

I agreed. It was so powerful that you don't even get to use it in gameplay. It just unlocks and is listed in her skills but Olivia only really uses it during the cutscene that leads to the Best End. The armies and whoever else bend to her will, Fanoss gets reabsorbed into Holfort, the Saintess and their chosen love interest get married to the roar of approval from the entire country.

"Have the people of the past ever encountered anyone like that?" I asked, wondering if any of the Getter Teams ever had to deal with this kind of problem.

Not with such potency or range of effectiveness. Even then, they were always adversaries and would be dealt with lethally. It is an outcome I want to avoid with Olivia.

Damn right. "What can we do? Should I talk to her about it? Do I ask the others for help?"

This is the first time I have encountered an instance of brainwashing for the benefit of other people. However, I would advise against confronting Olivia about this for now. If she is indeed doing this subconsciously, then informing her may just result in your current awareness being erased by her power in order to maintain her perceived status quo.

"Then I guess the less people that know this the better?" I asked rhetorically.

Correct. Our best course of action would be to monitor her and ensure that she does not escalate. Do you know if the Saint Relics could help with this?

There was an idea! "The Relics were there to both indicate her status as the Saint as well as giving her a power boost. They might just be what we need."

Would we require all three or would a single Relic be enough?

"I don't know. But that actually brings up something else I was hoping to talk to you about tomorrow." I then started telling Control about Clara, the Pirates, the boys, and the stolen Saint Necklace that they possess.

A fortuitous coincidence then. Since we will be hosting the others and their Armors, I assume you wish to use the Nagare as transport?

I grinned, some cheer creeping into my voice as I spoke. "Yep. I want those pirates to see us coming and realize that they're the ones who are being trapped."

We still have the issue of the Why on the table. What would Olivia's motivation for excluding herself romantically be?

That was the golden question, now wasn't it?

"And why aren't we allowed to join you in this mission of yours, dear Leon?" Angie asked in an even tone. Oh wow, was this how dad felt whenever he upset mom?

We all stood at the harbor a few days later as the boys' Armors were being loaded in the Nagare's hangar. My fiancées were less than thrilled when I actually explained the situation with Carla in detail. They were even less thrilled when I asked them to stay behind with Livia for the duration of the holiday.

"It'll be mostly an Armor fight in the sky. With his highness and the others there, we probably have way more than enough to deal with this without any issues." I explained, not saying that it was also so they could keep an eye on Livia as well as to keep them all away from harm.

"I still don't like this." Clarice muttered as she glanced to the side and saw Marie pointing at Jilk's upgraded Armor. "And why is she allowed to join you?"

"Because I don't trust Marie alone without supervision!" I spoke out loud enough for Marie to hear. She made a face and gave a rude gesture that I just laughed at.

"Leon will be fine." Livia suddenly spoke up and hugged Clarice from behind. "Believe in the man you both love."

Oh wow, way to make all three of us blush there Livia.

"Umm…" Someone spoke up. I turned and saw Clara looking around with growing alarm. "What is all this?"

"Preparation." I simply said with a smile.

Clara looked past me and nervously pointed in the distance. "But that's Prince Julius and Sir Jilk."

"Yep. Greg, Brad, and Chris are already inside with their Armors. We're just loading the last two in my ship." I wondered if she was going to pass out with how pale she was getting.

"This is your ship?" She looked at the admittedly intimidating looking ship.

"You didn't know?" Angie asked with narrowed eyes.

Clara shook her head and raised her hands in supplication. "I have heard the stories, but I have never really seen it in person."

Oh man, she was definitely in for a surprise then.

"I know that Leon accepted your plea of his own will, but I want you to understand something." Clarice spoke and approached Clara. "If anything happens to Leon, there won't be a place on this world that you can hide from the three of us."

Huh, turns out that Clarice can be pretty scary too. With no other choice, Clara desperately hid behind me in fear.

"Okay that's enough." I dispelled the tension by pulling the upset senior into a kiss.

Clarice pouted at me after clearly enjoying the kiss. "That's cheating."

"She's right! You should kiss Angie too!" Livia exclaimed as she pushed my other fiancée into my arms. Angie looked cute when she was bashful like this and I couldn't help but give her a peck on the nose before kissing her on the lips.

"I'm still mad." She whined into my lips before fully pressing herself into me. I opened my eyes after the kiss and saw Livia giving me two thumbs up. That girl.

As per our plan, Control's stealth drone would be staying behind to keep an eye on all three girls just in case. We said our goodbyes and Clara boarded the Nagare with me, meeting up with the others on the bridge.

-hat is correct, your highness. Everything on the Nagare is automated and managed by myself. A crew is not required for the ship to function at full battle readiness.

Clara and I walked in just as Control was introducing themselves and explaining what my ship could do.

"I'm starting to think you don't even need us on this Pirate Hunt, Leon." Chris commented as he wiped his glasses.

I laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Even if that's true, I'd rather do this with friends than just me and Control."

That got a round of smiles from the boys. Despite our rocky start, I could admit that we really had become friends. I guessed that the whole Shonen philosophy of becoming friends after fighting each other applied here after all. I ignored the gremlin glaring at me and asked if anyone had any suggestions for a plan of action.

"What plan? We just find the pirates and crush them until they stop moving." Greg suggested with a laugh. While it was true that we had a potentially unstoppable death ball with everyone here, I still had a couple of things I wanted to accomplish.

"I actually want to capture the pirates if at all possible." I suggested. The reactions ranged from confusion and contemplation from the boys, to mild irritation from the gremlin, to barely hidden panic from Clara.

She really wasn't good at the whole conspiracy thing, huh?

"Why? They are criminals that raised their hand against Nobility. Death is what they deserve." Jilk said with a scoff. I mean, he was correct and the others largely agreed.

"I want to know how they're able to become such a problem and evade suppression for so long. I can't imagine they can move around freely inside the Kingdom's territory without getting the attention of families other than the Waynes." I reasoned and saw them start to really think about it.

"You suspect foul play?" Brad asked, clearly interested in the prospect.

"I think they're getting more help than they should be." I confirmed with a nod.

"An intriguing prospect." Jilk stated with a nod. "I'll follow your lead on this then."

"I believe that we should all do the same. This is Leon's mission so he'll be in command." Julius suggested and was met with agreement from the rest.

"Jeez, no pressure!" I joked and we all laughed. Well, Marie rolled her eyes and Clara looked like she really was going to faint.

Control got everyone set up with nice rooms, with the boys and Clara being particularly amazed at the automated hot showers and baths that didn't use magic. They were all getting settled into their rooms and I took the opportunity to have a talk with a certain gremlin about a few things.

"Ack! Why are you in my room?! Are you going to assault me?!" Marie immediately said in alarm and brandished a nearby vase.

"Don't flatter yourself. Then again, you're plenty flat already." I said with a snort and eyeroll.

Oh wow, she really looked like she was going to throw the vase at me. "How dare you! I'll tell Juli–"

"How far into the game did you get?" I interrupted with a grin.

"Wh-what?"

"You knew how to trigger the flags of all the love interests before the actual main protagonist could. You even managed to get some late game events happening prematurely. The Armor duel wasn't supposed to happen until year three, for example." I listed out her actions and saw her eyes widen.

"You know about the game? Then you really are…" She trailed off while lowering the vase in her hand.

"I assume you are also from Japan since I'm sure we're the only ones crazy enough to actually play that garbage game." I told Marie in Japanese.

She distractedly shook her head and answered in Japanese. "No, they actually made like four more sequels after this one."

Who the hell would want more of this?!

 

[Blackraptor]

"So why did you do a hostile takeover of Olivia's role as main protagonist anyway?" I regarded the gremlin while she drank some water. "You know about all the possible Bad Ends that can happen, right?"

It was something that had been niggling at the back of my mind ever since I noticed what Marie had been doing. She had played the game so she should have known how brutal being in Olivia's canon shoes actually was.

Marie slammed the empty glass on the table and glared at me. "Just because we're both from Earth doesn't mean I have to trust you!"

I frowned but could understand that she had a point. "Fine. You don't have to trust me but we don't have to keep getting in each other's way either."

"That's what you've been doing!" Marie pointed at me with a snarl. "Everything was going fine until you started scooping up the heroine, the villainess, and the minor antagonist!"

"Because they needed help after you went too hard with the flags!" I shot back. Marie's actions blindsided Clarice, caused a mental breakdown with Angie, and hamstrung Livia's character growth.

"So what?! I don't care about them!" Oh this bitch!

I would like to advise a moment of calm. Remaining adversarial benefits neither of you.

Control cut in just as I was seriously considering strangling the selfish little gremlin. Both of us continued to glare at each other until Marie spun around and went to sit on her bed. I ground my teeth but chose to sit on an available chair.

"So you can be inside my room too?" Marie hissed at the ceiling where she thought Control probably was speaking from.

I am the control system of the ship itself, Miss Marie. Being able to monitor passengers is a requirement for health and safety.

That got a scoff from the gremlin but she didn't say anything else against it.

More importantly, I suggest that you both take this opportunity to reach an understanding on certain things. Regardless of personal feelings, you are both now affecting major aspects of this country's possible future.

Marie and I both narrowed our eyes at each other. It was pretty clear that there was no love lost between us.

Miss Marie, we do not understand your motivations. You also have no prerogative to share them with us. However, it is undeniable that your actions have been affecting certain events and causing unintended consequences that we currently do not know the full extent of. Cooperation would allow us all to adjust and deal with any problems that may arise.

"Why are you making it sound like this is all my fault?!" she yelled at the ceiling indignantly.

"You snapped up the love interests too fast and too soon." I finally spoke out, making her look at me in confusion. "Julius and the boys didn't stand a chance against me because you triggered the duel while they only had their starter level Armors. That fight should have happened at the start of Year Three."

"Urk!"

"I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but this Pirate Hunt we're currently on was supposed to happen in Year Two." I continued with a sigh.

"Ack!"

We also have to consider the very serious possibility of the timetable suggested in the game as a whole being moved forward, this includes the endgame with the Principality of Fanoss' invasion.

Ah, looks like things are finally clicking together based on how pale she was getting. "Didn't consider that, huh?"

"How could I?! I only went after the romance events! I didn't know that the combat events would trigger too!" She said in growing panic, likely remembering how terrifying the last third of the game was like for underprepared players. There was one particular boss we definitely needed to be ready for.

Regardless of intent, this may be something we need to prepare for. Black Getter F and the Nagare can only do so much on their own. May we know the reason why you chose to take on the mantle that was originally meant for Olivia?

Marie still looked hesitant so I took a breath and leaned forward in my chair. "There had to have been tons of other options for you when you got to the Academy without getting involved in the plot."

"There wasn't. Taking Julius and the others and becoming the Saint was the only choice I had." The empty look in Marie's eyes and the hollow tone in her voice genuinely spooked me.

Then Marie actually told us what her story was.

I slammed my fist against the nearest wall. I was back out in the hallway outside Marie's room, the girl quietly asking me to leave after she finished explaining her side. I felt my heart stop when I heard her break down and sob as the door closed behind me.

"Fucking nobility my ass!" I hissed out. I knew that my family situation probably wasn't the only crappy one out there, but it never really sunk in until I heard Marie's own situation.

Neglect, abuse, indifference.

At least my family outside of Zola's side actually loved me!

Marie wouldn't have any good prospects for marriage at the Academy either. Other houses would immediately recognize that her family was poor and marrying her would just drag them into debt as well. I felt like a complete ass when I remembered every time I made fun of her figure and stature. She was probably malnourished when she was growing up which was why she looked like that.

When she learned that she could use healing magic, she worked herself to the bone in order to bump it up to a level that would be able to rival Livia's. She wanted to take the title of Saint in order to escape the hell she was reincarnated into.

I asked why she hadn't told Julius and the others yet. I was certain that they would obliterate her house for how they treated her. Marie just shrugged at me before answering with a broken smile.

"And then what?"

It didn't take long for me to see what she meant. Regardless if she was a victim in the situation, it would only look like she manipulated the prince and the other heirs for her own revenge-slash-hostile takeover of her family's holdings. I wouldn't be surprised if one or more of their families would have her killed in order to save their houses' reputations. The Lafan territory would then be cut up and distributed to whoever the Crown saw fit.

It didn't excuse what she did to Angie, Livia, and Clarice, but I at least understood why she had to attempt something so drastic. I walked back to the bridge and slumped in the Captain's chair.

It is unfortunate that humanity's worst traits have lived on even after tens of thousands of years.

"I can't think of anything to get her out of her family situation." I whined, feeling a headache coming on.

For now, leaving her with Prince Julius and the others would be the best course of action.

"It just keeps piling up, Control. How the hell do we deal with all the problems that I can't just blast away using Black Getter?" It reminded me of what I told Duke Redgrave when he and Minister Atlee originally talked to me about getting engaged to their daughters.

Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions to most of the issues we face. I suggest that we focus on things we can resolve for now.

"Pirates." I immediately mused while looking at some of the displays. Still a fair bit away from our destination. "How long do you think until Clara breaks and spills the beans?"

Three minutes ago. She is presently making her way to the bridge when I told her that you are here.

Huh, that didn't take long at all. "Really?"

She discovered that she could communicate with me in her room. She asked where you were as she wished to speak with you about something important.

"Yeah, I bet. Where is she?" The main display on the Captain's console changed to show a live feed of Clara exiting an elevator.

She just entered the hallway outside the bridge.

"Let her in." This should be good. The doors opened and Clara briskly walked in before bowing in front of me.

"Viscount Bartfort, I need to speak with you urgently." She said in a formal tone.

I decided to call back to something I said before. "Finally decided to assassinate me, huh?"

"Wha–no! I'm here to–" She started to say in a panic until I cut her off.

"This whole thing is a trap. The pirates waiting for us are more numerous than what you originally told me and their actual objective is to kill me. Did I forget anything else?" I told her in a bored tone. I didn't expect her to immediately throw herself at my feet and grovel.

"Please forgive me! I didn't want to do this! I didn't have a choice!" She babbled through tears. "Miss Offrey ordered me to make the request to you an–"

"Stop!" I called out and she immediately shut up. "Do you mean Karen Fou Offrey?"

"Yes, Viscount. The Waynes are vassals of the Offrey house and I am expected to follow any orders from Miss Offrey. She was the one who told me to lead you to our destination." She quickly said. Clara certainly didn't hold any loyalty to Karen or her family. Zero-to-Under the Bus within a minute.

I hummed, recalling that the incident at the school festival was the first time I ever even saw her. "Why would she want to do that?"

"I don't know. I know better than to ask, Viscount." Clara answered with a shake of her head.

It is also curious that the daughter of House Offrey is able to coordinate an attack using Sky Pirates.

Control made a pretty good point. You never really get to the bottom of the cause of the pirate ambush in the game, it was just used as a framing device for the chosen love interest's new Armor and the Saint's Necklace.

"You think they're working with the Pirates? Or the pirates actually work for them?" I asked while leaning into the seat, tenting my fingers in front of my face, and narrowing my eyes. A gesture that made Clara look even more afraid.

It would explain their freedom of movement and lack of persecution.

I slowly looked down and regarded the girl who was still on her knees. "And your family works under them, huh?"

"Please! I'll do anything! I'll testify against them! I'm sure my father would do the same! Please don't kill us!" I ignored her pleas, hopped off the Captain's chair and crouched down so we were at eye level.

"How many pirates are waiting for us?" I asked in a low tone, making the girl shiver.

"I wasn't told. They just told me that it would be enough." She said before her eyes widened. "In fact, we should probably turn back and just leave!"

That was an option, if the pirates didn't have something I wanted. "No, we'll keep going. It would be rude to stand them up after they went through all the trouble."

"This is only one ship! Even with advanced Armors, you would be overwhelmed!" Clara exclaimed while spreading her arms.

I chuckled at her fear and looked up at the ceiling. "Control, how many enemies can the Nagare face by itself?"

At the minimum range where all weapon systems would have full effectiveness, the Nagare is capable of engaging two hundred and seventy-six individual targets of standard Armor size or larger simultaneously.

I whistled. I didn't know the number was going to be that high.

"As you can see, we won't be trapped out there with them." I looked back down at the gobsmacked girl. "They'll be trapped out there with us."

"From this point forward, you do what I tell you. Don't talk about your family's involvement in this." I said while pulling Clara back up to her feet. "If Jilk finds out, he might just shoot you where you stand."

I ignored how she started shaking in fear. "Control, get everyone to the briefing room. It's time we talk about tactics."

Of course.

"Follow." I ordered and exited the bridge.

"Y-yes, my Lord!" Clara answered as she started following me. Wait, why was she calling me her lord? Whatever, I had bigger things to worry about.

Twenty minutes later, Control and I finished telling everyone the current situation. Well, the one we decided to go with anyway. It was kind of funny the way Clara looked at me with wide eyed shock when I explained that the mission had changed from suppression to the rescue of the Wayne family. Control "detected" a larger than expected number of pirates and they were headed directly to the Wayne estate.

"Do you think that whoever has been working with the pirates decided that the Waynes have become a loose end?" Jilk asked with narrowed eyes. Marie was looking at me with suspicion but didn't speak up.

"That could very well be the case. Their numbers are probably so they could erase everything completely." I agreed with a nod.

"Are we sufficient to deal with so many foes?" Chris very reasonably asked.

The Nagare will be engaging the bulk of the Pirate forces.

"Our job will be to find and secure the flagship and take in their leadership. Hopefully we can actually find out who has been behind this whole mess." I continued from Control's initial answer. It was also to ensure that we keep the flagship intact as the Saint Relic was likely stored there. Even if it was stashed somewhere else, we'll have the ones who would know in custody.

"Not to doubt the strength of a Lost Item, but are you sure that you can fight against multiple ships?" Brad asked Control.

The Nagare was designed specifically to face overwhelming odds and prevail.

Everyone was silent after that, likely thinking about our odds. It made sense. As talented and prepared as we all were, enough numbers could still eventually make up for the difference. Greg didn't seem to be all that worried, neither did Chris after giving a nod. Jilk and Brad looked at each other but Jilius' reaction was the one that really surprised me.

"I trust Leon and Control." He declared as he gave me a look of complete confidence. "Tell us where you need us."

Well, I definitely didn't want to disappoint after something like that.

"Okay, here's what we do."

 

[Blackraptor]

The destination that Clara led us to was a floating island in the outskirts of the Wayne territory. It was primarily used for mining and logging so there weren't really any civilian residences there.

Well, that was what the island was supposed to be for.

"The mineral veins in the mines have already been used up long ago and the trees that grow there are troublesome to cut down and provide subpar wood. All-in-all, it's nothing more than a floating rock in my family's eyes." Clara explained during our little mission briefing.

"That means that there's gonna be a lot of caves to hide in." Greg voiced out, something that we all agreed with.

"There should also be a number of facilities to accommodate ships to export the resources that were mined. They may be in disrepair now, but they might still be used to house and service a number of ships." Chris added. The more we thought about it, the more it made it look like the island we were headed to was a perfect fit for a Sky Pirate hideout.

I believe this would be a good time to discuss the Rules of Engagement that we will use in this battle.

"Rules of what now?" Brad asked. I guess they never really had anything like that, or it was called something else here.

It is about how we shall conduct ourselves in combat. Do we attack immediately? Do we wish to attempt diplomacy? Do we simply kill the pirates who are not part of the leadership?

"Ah, now I understand. I say we just kill the ones we don't need." Brad answered with a confident nod.

"You don't look like you agree, Leon." Marie spoke up for the first time in the briefing. The others looked like they just noticed my expression.

"You still have reservations about killing?" Jilk asked, more curious than anything else.

"Well, that's one thing. There's also another reason…" I trailed off and remembered something from quite some time ago. "...I saw the final wish of the one that created the Nagare and Black Getter. They were both built for the sake of mankind. Black Getter in particular was created with the hope that whoever inherits it would never use it to destroy humanity. I kind of still want to abide by that wish as much as I can."

"A Lost Item purpose built to protect mankind, strong enough that its creator asks you to not use it to destroy." Chris said with a helpless smile and a shake of his head. "We really didn't stand a chance against you, did we?"

"Well, not with that attitude." I responded with a grin, making the boys laugh.

"I'm fine with it. If anything would be sturdy enough to try to take down Sky Pirates non-lethally, it would be Leon's Armor." Jilk voiced his approval with a nod. "Though I hope you don't have anything against the rest of us taking lives to defend ourselves and each other."

I nodded and gave him a thumbs up. "I get it. I won't try to restrict you guys."

"Your desire to uphold the final wish of your Armor's creator is admirable. Just make sure that it does not shackle you if the time comes that you need to take lives for the sake of others." Julius warned me with complete seriousness.

Defend what you hold dear with it if you want, but do not make our mistakes. Don't try to turn Getter into a God or a Devil.

"Don't worry, I won't."

The Nagare flew into the island's airspace, it was quiet but Control was able to detect each and every ship and Armor hiding all around us. Julius and the boys were all in their Armors and standing on the Nagare's surface. Marie and Clara were both watching everything unfold from the safety of the bridge.

"Sky Pirates!" Julius called out, his Armor amplifying his voice. "I know you are here! I am Julius Rapha Holfort! Crown Prince of the Kingdom that you are all blighting with your presence. Surrender now or be cut down! This is your only warning!"

The pirates responded by launching a bunch of ships all around the Nagare, six in total. Those ships started to disgorge Armors from within, Control confirming sixty.

"Those models are military." Jilk said over the comms. Control set everyone up with simple ear pieces so we could all communicate without having to use external speakers. "There are old ones from Holfort, Fanoss, and even Alzer."

"Stolen or given by their benefactors?" Brad asked. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if it was both."

"That might just actually be it. Well, not like they stand a chance. They're using models older than the one I used in the duel!" Greg dismissed the threat with a grin.

"Welcome to the territory of the Winged Sharks, your highness!" The haughty voice of a man yelled out from the furthest ship, the flagship it seemed. "As you can see, you are outnumbered, outgunned, and surrounded! How about we calm down and talk about how I'll be ransoming you and your friends back to the Kingdom. You can even leave behind your Armors and that ship as gifts to my esteemed self!"

"It seems that negotiations are unsuccessful, Julius." Chris joked, knowing that it was a long shot anyway.

"It seems so." Julius agreed as he watched the pirates start to close in. "Leon, time for the next phase of your plan."

"Got it." I said from inside Black Getter's cockpit. We were in the skies above the island, so far up that none of the pirates even noticed that the Getter Robo was even up here. I took a breath, changed Black Getter's angle, and pushed on the levers to make it fly straight down. I grunted at the acceleration and tightened my muscles, the pilot suit doing its job and preventing injuries from the g-force.

"Bhaa!" I exhaled as Black Getter stopped in the air in front of one of the Winged Sharks' ships. "Getter Spike!"

Black Getter reared its arm back as the spikes on its fist extended. With a mighty punch down onto the bow of the ship, I was able to force it to run aground as it wasn't able to stabilize itself.

"As you can see, we are far more formidable than you think." I heard Julius say as the boys readied their own weapons and engaged the Pirates' Armors. I may have been able to take them all down pretty easily during the duel, but they started to demonstrate that they all had the potential to be pretty high-end Armor pilots too. It was even more impressive since they were still just using souped up versions of their starter Armors and not the actual upgraded models. As the biggest kicker, they were doing this against a force that was larger and stronger than what they were supposed to face in-game.

Chris's Armor retained its sleek design, but had extra slits at the shoulders, hips, and legs. The purpose of those slits became evident when a pirate tried to stab him with a spear, Chris easily sliding to the side and slicing the Armor in half with a better looking sword than what he used to have.

Brad's Armor added smaller shields at the shoulders but it still looked pretty much the same as last time. The improvements it got was shown as he controlled the remote spears that were normally mounted on the Armor's back. Each spear flying around, stabbing, blocking, and parrying like they all had minds of their own.

Greg being Greg just did the sensible thing and replaced his outdated model to a more standard one. Of course, it was customized to his liking. It was still red but had more armoring and slightly bigger arms than the regular models that the army uses. With his spearwork no longer held back by the limitations of an old Armor, Greg just went around like a whirlwind of destruction.

Jilk stayed on the Nagare and used it as a firing platform. The helmet of his Armor looked new and the rifle it wielded looked a bit heftier. The effectiveness of the upgrades were pretty easy to see as he was able to pick off Armors two or three at a time. Predictably, he focused his support fire around Julius, though he did take out targets of opportunity that went after the others.

Speaking of Julius, his armor looked pretty much unchanged. It made sense as it was already a higher spec Armor than normal. He was front and center of the Armor battle and coordinated the rest of the boys for attacks and defense. Whenever a pirate tried their luck, they found Julius' swordsmanship more than enough to deal with any of them.

I had just crushed the legs of a couple of Armors, forcing them to land, when I noticed that the enemy Armors were getting taken down faster than I expected them to. "Control, time to finish this."

Understood.

The Nagare's surface shifted, Jilk wisely taking to the air, with armor panels moving to reveal several large lenses. Ah, of course it would have lasers.

[Getter Beam]

Control's declaration could be heard by everyone on the battlefield as the sky was bathed in green light. In an instant, four of the ships were already crashing to the ground along with a bunch of Armors that had limbs melted off.

Nagare OP, please never nerf.

"We surrender! We surrender!" The frantic voice of the same man who spoke before suddenly yelled out from the remaining ship. "Please have mercy on us!"

Jilk coordinated placement of prisoners inside the Nagare's residential area with Control. The big ship being the only thing large enough to hold that many people securely. The rooms they were confined in were completely sealed and Control made sure that all the pirates understood that every aspect of the ship was under their control, including the air supply inside. None of them resisted.

"What'll happen to them?" I asked Jilk as the last of the regular pirates were locked up in rooms.

"Execution." He simply responded. I grimaced, but I couldn't really do anything about it either.

Instead, I went to the remaining pirate ship still in the air to talk to the leader. Surprisingly, Julius went with me. I was expecting Jilk to protest, but he agreed and chose to keep an eye outside the ship in his Armor. The leader was a bald man with an eyepatch that had scars all over his dark skin, pretty much what I expected a pirate to look like. He was super nervous when we entered his quarters, likely the thrashing was still fresh on his mind.

"You are the leader of the Winged Sharks?" Julius asked, hand on the sword on his hip. The leader nodded and I took the time to look around, immediately spotting the very thing I wanted. There on a display case near the far wall was a jeweled necklace that had the symbol of the holy temple on it.

The Saint's Necklace.

I walked up to it and the pirate leader looked alarmed. I spoke up before he could, "Why were you guys here? This place is pretty deep in Holfort territory."

"We were told to set up here and wait for a ship to ambush." He quickly said, still looking at me warily.

Julius glared at him and stepped forward. "Who instructed you to do this?"

"I can't tell you! They'll kill me!" He said in clear fear.

"You guys just attacked the crown prince." I reminded him. "Whoever you're afraid of will be nothing compared to what the crown will do if you don't cooperate."

He quickly broke after that and told us everything, even providing letters that showed the pirates being ordered to go here and ambush whoever showed up. They had one order: Confirm the Death of Leon Fou Bartfort. The one who had them do this was even more of a surprise.

"The Offrey House wants you killed?" Julius asked in shock as he read through one of the letters. "Why? Because you spurned their daughter?"

"Nah, Carla went to me before the thing with Karen in the Host Club. This was going to happen regardless of how I reacted to her." I also considered the possibility, but it looked like the whole seduction thing by Karen was just for kicks.

"More mysteries then." Julius muttered before turning to the pirate leader. "You will surrender this ship and everything inside to us. Report to the deck to be moved as our prisoner."

I watched the man quickly beat a hasty retreat, giving the necklace one last worried glance before leaving. "You sure he won't run?"

"To where?" I blinked at Julius' words and nodded in understanding.

Julius and I looked around the quarters some more, with me taking the opportunity to pilfer the Saint's Necklace. We didn't really find anything aside from more letters that proved that the Sharks were under the employ of the Offery house as guns for hire. Julius surmised that was how they were equipped with better Armors than what they were supposed to be capable of acquiring.

"I guess the only thing left is to go to Carla's home and tell her family the good news!" Julius happily exclaimed when we all returned to the Nagare.

Carla and I exchanged a glance, with her just bowing at me after a smile. "Right, yeah."

We left the ships and Armors on the island to be eventually retrieved by representatives of the Crown. Greg, Brad, and I did make sure to move all the treasure we could get our hands on back to the Nagare though. When Chris asked why we would even need treasures, the three of us just grinned at the man.

"It's not about needing more money…" Brad began.

"...it's about having more money!" Greg finished and the three of us shared a round of high fives. We then all met back up in the briefing room so Julius and I could tell everyone what we found.

"Sorry to tell you, but it looks like Marie is literally the best thing that happened to you." I told Brad, who looked both shocked and relieved at the same time.

"Hey! Why did it sound like you're pitying him that I'm the best thing that happened to Brad!" Marie complained before she was engulfed in an embrace by a tearful Brad, thanking her for letting him into her life. "Ack! I get it! Let me go!"

Julius then informed everyone that he'd bring the prisoners and the evidence before her mother so an official investigation and inquisition could be brought against the Offerys. From the sounds of it, they won't last very long with the piles of proof we managed to find.

I glanced at a fidgeting Clara as her father explained that they didn't know anything about any pirate attacks threatening them. Our arrival at the Wayne Estate made a lot of people pretty scared, but the feeling was replaced with relief and a bit of panic when Julius made his presence known.

Carla proceeded to tell her father and the rest that she was ordered by the Offrey House's daughter to lure me to the ambush. Her dad was understandably furious with her for going along with a plot that threatened the life of the crown prince.

"What was I supposed to do?! She was going to kill us all if I didn't do what she said!" Carla screamed out in despair. I moved between the crying Carla and Jilk, who had just pulled out his personal handgun.

"She is a traitor." He coldly said.

"She was being threatened." I pointed out.

"She tried to have you killed!" He countered, bewildered that I was taking her side.

"That was the Offreys. As you heard, they pretty much took Carla's entire family hostage." I reasoned out instead.

Jilk grimaced but holstered his gun before speaking. "We can't just let her go."

"I won't run away!" Carla suddenly yelled out before once again kneeling in front of me. "I've sworn to myself to follow Viscount Leon Bartfort to the ends of the world!"

"What?!" I exclaimed and looked down at the girl who now had a rather manic look in her eyes.

"You are my savior! My family's savior! You could have easily just thrown me away like the Offreys have, but you didn't!" Carla Fou Wayne passionately said. "I humbly request that you allow me to dedicate my life to you, my Lord!"

That caused another round of arguments between her and her family. I just stood there with the others and watched the whole thing unfold.

"What should I do?" I asked and the boys just gave me thumbs up in response, even Jilk. "I hate you guys."

 

[Blackraptor]

Julius' status and charisma helped a lot in smoothing things over between Clara and her family. He said that he would talk to the Queen about their situation and circumstance as victims during the whole incident. It was a moment that reminded me that the guy was actually raised to become a King one day.

We were on our way back to the Capital and everyone was getting a well deserved rest. I lay on the bed in the Captain's Quarters of the Nagare with the Saint's Necklace dangling in my hand above my face.

"Such a tiny thing." In the game it was just a key item that took up a new slot in Olivia's equipment screen. It wouldn't do anything until the event where she revealed the power of the Saint, at which time it would serve as a booster to her magic stat. It was a way for the players who chose to run a non-magic Olivia to access the endgame spells that needed high magic stats. Of course, it just gave the ones who ran magic specs even more power.

What? That sounds like broken game design? Of course, it was. It was part of the reason why the difficulty spike later on was so nuts.

Should we give the necklace to Olivia once we arrive back at the Capital?

That was the question, wasn't it? I was effectively banking on the possibility of the necklace unlocking enough of Olivia's Saint Power for her to actually take control of it. If she really was manipulating everyone's minds subconsciously, this along with Control talking her through the issue might help her break the spell. What happens after that, well…

You seem uncertain.

"I know that the world doesn't revolve around events or flags, but I can't help the sinking feeling of what would happen if doing that reveals Livia as the Saint this early." I admitted, Marie's actions along with a bunch of other things happening out of order was making me nervous about what else would trigger.

You believe that it may cause something else to occur early as well?

"I don't really want to deal with Fanoss this early. Sure, you and I may be able to take on whatever they send against us. The problem is that the rest of the Kingdom likely won't fare as well as we can." Just thinking about the Principality and the pain in the ass that was the Black Knight made my head hurt.

I understand. What about the route of giving the necklace to Marie instead? She has a motivation to want to become a Saint and the relics may give her enough power to match Olivia's. Possibly enough to counteract her spell.

That was definitely another way to deal with the issue, by effectively turning Livia into a boss that I had to trust Marie to be able to beat. It wasn't a mindset I was keen to follow. "Pitting two girls with the power level of a Saint sounds like a Last Resort kind of thing to do."

A unique conundrum. Do you wish to delay for now? We have the relic on hand and can use it once we have a clearer plan of action.

"Can we keep it on the Nagare for now? It'll probably be the safest place to store it." I sat up from the bed and looked around.

Of course. There is a safe behind the painting to your left, I will ensure that it remains there.

It wasn't the ideal solution, but it was better than making a rash decision that I couldn't take back. If we ever needed the necklace, I knew exactly where it was. Control opened the empty safe and I tossed the sacred artifact inside.

The sound the safe made when I closed it didn't sound foreboding at all.

We managed to return to the capital before the holiday ended. Julius and Jilk quickly organized the authorities to accept the captured pirates. The two of them patted me on the back and wished me luck just as the boys' Armors were done being unloaded from the Nagare's hangar. I understood what they meant when I saw my fiancées and Livia walking towards us.

"How did they know I was already back?" I whispered while Julius and Jilk made themselves scarce.

I took the liberty of letting them know about our return.

Control's stealth drone appeared above Clarice's shoulder at those words. Ah, that made sense. I noticed that their gazes were directed behind me and remembered that Clara was standing there the whole time.

"I can explain." I said raising my hands as I stood in front of Livia, Angie, and Clarice.

"Can you, Leon? Can you really?" Clarice asked, looking more amused than angry. We all went back to the Academy and decided to talk about everything in my usual tea room. I felt like a trapped animal as both Angie and Clarice refused to let go of my arms as we walked. Livia hung back a few paces and talked to Clara on the way.

I explained what happened before, during, and after the pirate attack. I knew that I was doing something wrong based on the expressions that my fiancées were sporting the further along the story I went. Why are they looking at me like they were expecting this outcome and were disappointed that they guessed correctly?

Angie sighed and rubbed her head once I finished. "Will you be making a habit of picking up strays whenever you go out from now on?"

Clarice laughed at the question even as Clara looked like she didn't know how to take the comment.

"I think it's great that Leon was able to save Clara!" Livia cheered, seemingly taking a shine to the girl after their talk.

"On a more serious note," Clarice began while looking at Clara. "What exactly do you plan on being for Leon? What use are you for my man? I hope you don't have any delusions of becoming another of his wives."

"No! I would never presume to be worthy of such an honor!" Clara quickly answered with a shake of her head. "I shall be whatever my Lord wishes me to become. I will accept anything from him."

Okay, that amount of devotion was getting kind of creepy.

"Dubious as the circumstances of her recruitment was, I cannot deny that Leon can benefit from having followers now that he is a Viscount." Angie sounded like she was pulling teeth as she said that. Me? Followers? Oh no, did I really have to start thinking about that kind of stuff?!

"If Angie is okay with it, then I won't have any objections. As long as Clara here doesn't forget her place then she can become Leon's little minion." Clarice agreed with a shrug.

"Of course! All I am is for the benefit of my Lord!" Clara stated with a proud smile, it even almost looked like her eyes were sparkling.

"Isn't that great, Leon?" Sure, Livia, Absolutely fantastic.

A few days later, I found myself walking alongside Angie and Clarice through the main entrance of the Redgrave estate. Both their fathers summoned us for a meeting, no real mystery as to what the subject was going to be. Clara and Livia were back at the Academy and doing their own thing.

"Why do I feel even more nervous than I did the last time I was here?" I whined after a bunch of servants greeted us at the entrance hall. "There seems to be an air of expectation now."

"Of course there is, silly." Clarice giggled from my left as she squeezed my hand.

"The servants are merely giving a proper greeting to the man who shall become my husband." Angie declared from my right as she also squeezed my hand. They led me to a room on a higher floor than the audience chamber where I talked to the Duke last time. Angie knocked and the door was opened to reveal her brother. I glanced past him and saw the Duke and Minister talking over a couple of glasses of wine.

"You're late." Gilbert flatly stated and I suddenly got nervous. We were?! Did I just make two very scary dads wait on me?!

"Don't mind my brother's teasing, we're not late." Angie assured me as she pulled me past the smirking man. Oh no, that's going to be my brother-in-law.

Minister Atlee greeted us first, standing up and enveloping his daughter in an embrace. Clarice accepted the hug with the patience of a daughter who knew how much she was loved. "Dad, We just saw each other last week!"

Despite her protests, it was obvious that she was happy to see him again. I glanced past them as Angie stood up straight when her own father approached her. Duke Redgrave smiled down at his daughter and asked one thing "Does he make you happy?"

"Yes, father." I couldn't keep the flush from my face at the smile Angie showed when she answered.

"Leon has been wonderful, sometimes a bit too wonderful." Clarice commented with a teasing look towards me. "Angie and I have been thinking about getting a leash to make sure that other girls know exactly who he belongs to."

What have I gotten myself into?!

A hand patted my shoulder and saw that it was Gilbert. "This is the future you chose."

After introductions were finished, we all sat together in the room. I took up one couch with Angie and Clarice at my sides. The couch across from us held Duke Redgrave with Minister Atlee and Gilbert flanking him.

"I must say, we are quite happy that you chose to marry both our daughters. From how they talk about you, we know that we have entrusted them to the right man." I could hear the 'this time' that Minister Atlee implied at the end of his statement.

"Thank you Minister, Duke," I bowed to both men. "I still don't know if I deserve to have both Angie and Clarice, but I'll do everything I can to make them happy."

"Of course you will." The certainty in Duke Redgrave's voice was a bit intimidating. "I suppose it will take some time for you to get used to referring to myself and Bernard as Father."

He was not wrong.

"I must commend you for your decision not to remain antagonistic towards Prince Julius and his companions. Not only becoming amicable, but actually befriending them." Gilbert pointed out my relationship with Julius and the boys.

"Like I said before, my only real problem with them was how they treated Angie and Clarice. They're actually good guys once we got past that. They even helped me deal with a situation recently." I stated, referring to the last time that I spoke to Angie's father and brother.

"Ah, yes. The Palace was rather surprised when Prince Julius and Jilk returned with several pirates as prisoners. It has certainly helped his image that he has actively contributed to the safety of the Kingdom's skies. From what I understand, you have even taken in the daughter of the Wayne house as a follower." Minister Atlee said in good humor. Huh, I guess that would be how people would see Julius' actions. Well, good for him. I got the pirates off my hands and Julius got a rep boost.

I sighed and didn't miss how my fiancées hands squeezed just a bit tighter on my own. "It wasn't by choice. Carla practically threw herself at my feet and declared that she'd dedicate herself for my sake."

"You have guaranteed her loyalty to yourself, having such people is not common. Do not dismiss her devotion as a flight of fancy. I'm sure our daughters can assist you on how to best utilize her." Duke Redgrave told me with a nod. "But enough about that, we should move on to the main topic of our discussion."

Wait, this wasn't the main topic? What was I actually here for then?!

"Of course! Now then, have you three already discussed the actual date of the wedding?" I felt myself sweat loudly once again at those words. Wedding?! Already?! "Ah, from your expression, I suppose not."

"Leon still needs some time to get used to the idea. Though Angie and I have been talking about when the three of us should get married." Clarice smoothly picked up the conversation despite my panic.

"Yes, Livia has been quite passionate about the topic as well." I blinked, of course Livia would have been involved in those kinds of discussions. "She wants Leon to marry both of us at the same time, though I was thinking that he should marry Clarice first once she graduates. We can wait for my wedding until our own graduation."

"And I argued that it wouldn't be fair for me to be Leon's wife two years earlier than her." Clarice responded and pouted at Angie, it seemed to be something they had argued about before.

"And what is the future groom's opinion on the matter?" The smirk on Gilbert's face made it pretty obvious why he put the attention back on me.

"I'm not really ready to give a final answer to that kind of important choice but," I began, trying to find my next words. I glanced at the two girls at my side and saw the nervous smiles they were giving me. "Both, I want to marry them both at the same time. I don't know when exactly, but I can't think of doing anything less."

I thanked the stars that both their fathers were willing to table the discussion for now. In fact, it was almost like they were expecting my choice with how easily they agreed to talk about it again in the future. I swear, I couldn't understand what those two were thinking at all.

"Well, that was exciting." Was all I could say when we left the room before I found myself with an armful of Clarice. Her lips were on mine for quite some time, the way she smiled afterwards indicated that I did a good thing back there.

"Leon, dear. You don't understand how happy you made me with your words earlier." She said excitedly with a toothy grin. The grin changed into a different kind as she continued speaking. "If I was less than a proper lady, I would have dragged you and Angie both to an empty bedroom right now."

Oh, that was certainly a part of our relationship that I haven't thought about at all. No sir! No active imaginations here!

"Clarice, please don't tease Leon so much." Angie told Clarice even as she kissed me as well.

"Who's teasing?" The other girl asked with a smile.

We managed to get back to the Academy without any further incident and both girls gave me another kiss before we split up and headed back to our respective dorms.

"Don't wait too long to have us in your bed, Leon. Angie and I are pretty excited to show you what we've been practicing together~" I remained expressionless even as Angie scolded Clarice for talking too much about what they have been apparently doing. My impassiveness continued as I walked back to my dorm room, friends and strangers who greeted me along the way were summarily ignored.

Ah, Leon. I was wondering when you wished to continue with the simulati–is anything the matter?

I ignored Control's voice and flopped face first onto my bed. Angie and Clarice were going to eat me alive the first chance they got and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be ready for it.

A few weeks back into the resumption of classes, Julius informed me that the Offrey house had been officially dissolved for their conspiracy. He also handed me a letter from the Palace. It was a formal invitation to meet the Queen in a few days to receive my reward for my own efforts against the pirate menace.

I guess the King was busy?

 

[Blackraptor]

"Now this is just ridiculous!" I yelled out while maneuvering around a bunch of flying Mechasaurus. "This has to be some sort of prank, Control! They're literally just World War Two planes with Dinosaur heads sticking out of them!"

I was back in the simulator due to my whole morning being free. My meeting with the Queen wasn't until the evening after classes were over so I decided to get some reps in. Control decided that I could use some training on facing an absurd number of foes. That was how I sometimes glared at the victory condition that was on the upper part of the display.

Current Objective: Survive

I thought that I was going to have to kill EDF level numbers of monsters, not this!

"And why are they all so huge?!" I asked, narrowly dodging a suicide charge from one of the many dinosaur headed fighter planes.

These are all to scale, as are every enemy you have faced. It just so happens that Black Getter F is about half the size of the Getter Robo that these enemies originally fought.

Right, I did remember Professor Jin's comment that Black Getter was supposed to be smaller. Not that it made me feel any better about having to dodge bullets, lasers, and literal fire coming out of those Mechasaurus. Still, the smaller size of my Getter did allow me to bob and weave between the dino-planes much more easily than I would have with a full sized Getter Robo. When I cut open the fuselage of a Zero Fighter that had a Velociraptor face instead of a propeller, another notification popped up on the screen.

[Minimum Competency Achieved: Getter Beam Certification Unlocked for Black Getter F]

Getter Beam? Wasn't that what Control used on the Winged Sharks with the Nagare?

"Control! Getter Beam! How do?!" I yelled out in a clipped tone since I was still in the middle of a fight. It was pretty neat to make the dino-planes crash into each other though.

Except when the explosions block my vision of other dino-planes!

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" I cursed as a triceratop dual-prop fighter crashed into Black Getter and started dragging it across the sky.

Congratulations on gaining clearance to use Getter Beam, Leon.

I appreciated the supportiveness in Control's voice, but now was not the time! "Thank you! Now what is it exactly?!"

Getter Beam placement and power varies depending on which Getter Robo Model is utilizing it. Black Getter F has two versions of Getter Beam. One is a smaller beam coming out of the green crystal in its forehead that can be utilized for precision hits. The other one is a larger and more potent beam coming from the emitter located at the torso for hard or numerous targets.

One in the head, one in the body. Got it.

You may choose whichever one to fire by pushing your intent onto Black Getter F and calling out the attack itself, as with the other weapons you have been using.

"Question!" I called out as I had Black Getter drive its elbow repeatedly into the eye socket of the tricera-plane. "Can I use both?!"

Pardon?

I groaned and clarified my question. "Can I use both Getter Beams at the same time?!"

Yes, of course.

"All I wanted to hear!" I cheered after finally getting free of the tricera-plane. "Double!"

"Getter!" I smiled as I saw a familiar looking green glow on the top part of the display.

"Beaaaaaaaam!" My vision was filled with green and pink light. A moment later, all the dino-planes that were in front of me were now crashing to the ground in assorted states of destruction.

"Okay! Now it's time to party!" I triumphantly declared, preparing to use a move I totally came up with myself. "Tomahawk!"

"Shot-Boomerang!" I yelled out and Black Getter started throwing tomahawks one after the other in a spread pattern, like a shotgun blast. When the baker's dozen number of tomahawks looped back to me, I just dodged them all and let them fly into the dino-planes behind me.

Ten-over-ten. Would use the move when surrounded again.

With the help of my new Getter Beams, I was able to last another half hour before I finally got taken down. Turned out that even Black Getter could run out of power.

"So what's the record for longest time in survival mode?" I asked out of curiosity as the scenario ended and I was put back in the default 'menu screen' of the simulator.

If you had lasted another hour, new types of enemies would start to appear. This would have escalated until you were ultimately defeated. As for your question, the longest time in the simulator for the endless survivor course was eleven hours by Shin Getter Dragon.

"Now that's a pretty impressive sounding name." I commented with a raised eyebrow. Now that was an anime-ass anime name for a giant robot. It seemed that Control agreed as well.

Indeed, there can be an argument made of it being considered the strongest Getter Robo of its era. Returning to the topic of the simulations. Now that you have managed to unlock Getter Beam, I believe that you are ready to face the elite Mechasaurus models starting our next session.

As intimidating as that sounded, I couldn't deny that the prospect made me pretty excited. Must be more of that Getter Change that has probably been happening to me. My smile froze and I blinked at the remembrance.

Getter Change? Hang on.

"Control! Meet me in my room! I think I have an idea!" I yelled as I got out of the simulator.

I paced around my room after I told Control my admittedly rashly made theory.

So you posit that Olivia's established sensitivity to Getter Radiation could be causing the premature manifestation of her latent power?

"Compelling Voice is supposed to be her Last Skill. Completely separate from any other she could learn, either through physical or magical means." I stated, continuing to pace around my room. "We already established that the whole thing started long after she had been continually exposed to me and I just apparently gave off tiny bits of the stuff. What if when she boarded the Nagare, she got hit with even more Getter Rays?"

How can you be sure?

"When we talked during summer vacation. I asked her if she sensed anything inside the Nagare and she said that she could sense something big that was asleep. I think it's whatever you don't want anyone seeing inside the reactor room." I explained but stopped walking around when Control remained silent.

"Control?"

It seems that I have been overlooking certain possibilities.

"Can we undo whatever the Getter Rays could have done to her?" I asked, hopeful with this new angle.

Changes via Getter Rays are seldom reversible. It usually can only be overcome with great will.

I laughed and gave Control a thumbs up. "Good, then I'm absolutely sure that she can do it."

How so?

"You underestimate the bullshit that Livia would have had to go through to complete the game on normal terms. If that doesn't show great willpower, then nothing does." I pointed out. It was something I was intimately aware of.

The issue of how to convey that to her and stop her subconscious manipulations remains.

"I think we'll need to bring Angie and Clarice into this once we actually have a plan on how to do that." If there was anyone that I was sure that Livia absolutely loved, it was those two.

Are you certain?

"Well you guys have that whole three hearts as one philosophy, right?" Control once told me that during one of our runs in the simulator when I asked how Getter Teams could work so well together. "I don't necessarily need to be a part of the trio. Especially since I'm the subject of her mental manipulations."

That is true. I shall also start doing scans on Olivia to confirm or deny your theory on the effects of Getter Rays on her.

"You mean you haven't been scanning her?" I had expected that it would have been the first thing Control would have done and just kept quiet because they didn't find anything.

I refrain from doing so if possible, I would like to respect the privacy of humans.

"Then what about that scan you did on me when I first found you?"

That was standard procedure. I needed to make sure that you were actually human.

I opened my mouth to protest, then I remembered that I spent nearly an hour fighting dinosaur airplanes. "Fair."

And the Saint Necklace?

"Keep it in the Nagare as insurance." I told him with a shrug before moving to my walk in closet. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for a date with the Queen."

I am certain that Angelica and Clarice have already warned you against seducing her.

"It was a joke, Control!" I pointed out.

I doubt they would see it as such if they heard you say it.

I ignored the comment and changed into a fresh Academy uniform set. The letter nor Julius ever said anything about any dress code when meeting the Queen and I thought that wearing the formalwear I did when I was knighted was probably too much.

"Be back in a bit, Control."

Take care and do your best to restrain yourself.

Honestly, they've been hanging around the girls for too long.

Upon arriving at the Palace, I was escorted by a couple of guards deep inside to a wing that I had never been to. We arrived at a set of double doors that also had guards stationed in front of it. They all talked to each other until one of them entered the room for a few moments, the atmosphere in the hallway not being awkward at all guys! I was instructed to enter and the guards who escorted me there promptly left at the confirmation.

"Whoa…" I breathed out when I walked inside and closed the door. I wasn't reacting to the very large and opulent looking room nor to the perfect woman sitting at the large table in the far end of the room. I was reacting to the stacks and stacks of paper piled on the large table that nearly obscured the Queen from view. It was an image that brought back quite a bit of memories of all-nighters at the office when my seniors pushed their work on me.

"Ah, Viscount Bartfort." The tired smile she gave me when she saw me made me sympathize with her even more. Was she doing this all day? Did she have to go through all this before she went to sleep? "Welcome, please take a seat."

It didn't take long for me to understand that I was talking to a monarch and not the woman I did during the school festival. The way she referred to me and the way she conducted herself was complete practiced perfection that I had seen in executive level people back on Earth.

"For your contributions in vanquishing the Winged Sharks Sky Pirates in Holfort territory as well as exposing a conspiracy of another noble house conspiring with them, you have been promoted to Upper Fifth Rank Viscount as of today." Queen Mylene said with a smile. I blinked at the promotion but at least it wasn't anything drastic.

"Thank you, your majesty. I was just trying to do the right thing." I responded with my own smile, falling back on my own experience when talking to way more important people than I was. It was just that the person in front of me looked like she deserved that respect.

"In addition to your promotion, a section of the Offrey territory will be awarded to you. It shall be named under your personal branch of the Bartfort family." To my surprise, the Queen actually continued and just said something really shocking. "This includes one medium sized and two small sized islands for you to develop as you see fit."

Wait, what?! I actually have land now? Did that mean that I had to build a house there?

"The people living there now have already been informed of the change in rulership. To assist you in managing your new territory, the Crown has seen fit to place the Wayne house under yours provisionally as Protectorates until you graduate from the Academy." I have people now too?! Wait, did that mean that I was responsible for their wellbeing?!

"What does that mean, exactly?" I asked both in curiosity and worry. Thankfully, the Queen seemed to understand that I was pretty much out of my depth.

"The Wayne house will still be allowed to govern themselves independently, but they will also help manage your other holdings as well. This includes the aforementioned islands. In exchange, you are responsible for defending them in the event that they are threatened. Something you seem to already have experience with." Oh, so they'd just keep doing their own thing and just take care of some of my stuff. That's good. I thought that I was going to have to start giving decrees or something.

"You have Carla Fou Wayne as a subordinate, yes?" I nodded at her question. "Then she can serve well as the envoy between yourself and her family."

That was true. It might also curb some of her overeagerness in trying to prove her worth towards me. I needed to talk to Angie and Clarice about this as well. The rest of the talk about my new territory and people was just hammering out my responsibilities and expectations while I was still studying in the Academy. Mostly bureaucracy. I couldn't help but smile when the Queen looked surprised that I was being so understanding about some of things like wages and taxes.

"Are you okay, Viscount? Since the attack, I mean." Queen Mylene suddenly asked after we finished with the last of the legal documents I had to sign.

"What do you mean?" I mean, it wasn't anything more than what I had already gone through in my old life.

"I personally read the letters from the Offrey house to the pirates. I know that they were targeting you." Ah, that stuff.

"Julius and I couldn't really figure out why I was targeted by them. The daughter, Karen, did cause some trouble with me during the school festival but that didn't seem like it lined up with what was written in the letters." I explained. Sure, she could have had some bad things happen to be in revenge for insulting her so publicly, but organizing a Pirate Attack seemed too much for something like that.

"This stays within the confines of this room." I gulped and nodded at how serious the Queen suddenly sounded. "I believe that there is another party involved. The Offreys had diplomatic ties to the Principality of Fanoss and have worked as the primary means of talks between them and Holfort."

Fanoss?! The Offreys were in bed with Fanoss?!

I rubbed my eyelids and sighed. "No wonder relations between the Kingdom and the Principality never improved."

"We cannot say that they are the sole reason, but the Offrey house didn't seem to help either." Queen Mylene nodded with her own sigh. "The Crown is currently investigating any involvement of the Principality. However, we cannot risk a diplomatic incident that could cause a war."

So basically, we're working on it but don't talk about it.

That was pretty much the end of our meeting and the Queen stood from her desk to walk me out. I saw the bags under her eyes and remembered something.

"Before I go, can I talk to the transfer student Mylene again?" I asked, putting on my act that I did back during the festival.

The Queen suddenly blushed and she seemed to immediately get into character as well. "A-ah! Yes, how can I help you…Leon?"

Man, her acting skills were top notch!

"I hope you haven't forgotten about my open invitation." I reminded her with an easy smile and a wink. "Anytime you want, just say the word and I can host you for tea."

"Oh, I couldn't possibly bother you–" I cut off her cute protests with a chuckle.

"If it was a bother, then I wouldn't have offered." I told her as I stepped forward and took her gloved hands into my own. She seemed slightly panicked with the way her gaze moved between my face and our hands.

"Just think about it please. You need to have a place to relax too." I sincerely said before letting go. There was an odd expression on her face for a moment but it vanished after a moment.

She gave me a beautiful smile even as her fingers fiddled with the sleeves of her gloves. "I shall think about it seriously, thank you Leon."

"It was nice seeing you again, your majesty." I said, breaking the act and going back to normal. I was turning to the door when I heard the Queen speak again.

"Oh, and before you go, Viscount Bartfort." I turned back to look at her and–

Slap!

"That was for bringing my son to fight pirates." She coldly said before I felt a pair of soft lips on the cheek that she slapped.

"And that was for making sure that you both came home safe." I blinked at the whiplash of emotions I was feeling in those very short seconds. "Be on your way, Viscount. Back to the place you belong."

I took a glance back at the Queen as I exited the room. I couldn't help but think that the way she smiled was a bit sad.

 

[Blackraptor]

There was an event that I completely forgot about because of everything going on and how out of order everything was. It was the annual school trip. This was one of the few events where both General and Higher Studies at all year levels would participate at the same time.

Everyone would be randomly split into three main groups that would visit three different islands that had varied cultural themes. Its purpose in the game was to have a bunch of scenes with the love interest that the player chose. Plenty of CGs and affection points up for grabs made it a good catch-up mechanic in case you'd been slacking on romance events.

Daniel was very happy that he was in the same group as Jenna, though I had a hunch that my sister bribed the staff to make sure they ended up together. I dunno if Raymond managed to get into the same group as his Artesia, but I hope he did and that they would have a good time. Nicks was also in the same group as Daniel and Jenna, though I was sure that my sister was going to avoid him so he doesn't take up any time with Daniel.

The boys were all split up as well. Julius and Brad were going to the Northern island, while Jilk and Greg were going to the Western island. Chris won the Marie lottery as they would both be going to the Southern island. The triumphant expression he made when he found out was only overshadowed by the ribbing he got from his friends after. Marie herself rolled her eyes and seemed resigned to just go with it.

The really interesting spread was that Angie and Clara would be going to the Northern island, Clarice would be going to the Western island, and Livia and I would be going to the Southern island. I was pretty sure that everyone was mature enough not to start anything during the trip, but I still hoped that Brad and Greg could help fix those bridges even a bit. I was initially a bit nervous about being alone with Livia during the trip, but I quickly realized that I was being really stupid. Regardless of what she thought and what she was doing, she was still my best friend. Control's stealth drone would be coming with myself and Livia so they could continue monitoring her.

Control asked me if I wanted the Nagare and Black Getter on standby. I almost said, no. The reality of everything made me change my mind as I wasn't sure when more nonsense would likely happen. That meant that the Nagare was somewhere in the upper atmosphere above me in case I needed to call on it or Black Getter.

"Chris, calm down. You're making me nervous." I told my other spectacled friend as we went to the bar to get some drinks. We were en route to the Southern island in a pretty fancy Academy cruise liner airship. It was the second night of the trip and we would arrive at the island by the following morning. "Just bring the drinks to Marie and talk about normal stuff."

"Then what abou–"

"I swear, if you try to talk about swords like you did at breakfast, I will throw you off the ship myself." I groaned as the aspiring swordmaster actually whined.

"This is a rare opportunity. I am not as open about my feelings like Greg or Brad. I am not as charismatic as Jilk or Julius. I feel like I'm the least suited to make Marie happy." Oh god! Did I just get the 'help out your friend with his girl problem' event?! Why was he trying to get advice from me?! It wasn't like I had multiple girlfriends or anything.

Okay, so I guess he had a point.

"Okay man, breathe." I told him and he actually started doing breathing exercises in front of me. "Where is all this coming from anyway?"

"I am not like you who can say just the right things and make a girl swoon at will." Just what kind of impression does he have of me?! He sighed and looked like he was recalling a memory. "Every instance of my moments with Marie were all initiated by her. I just don't know what to do that would make her happy."

Ah, so that's what this felt like from the other side.

"You'd be surprised. You don't honestly think that I was always confident that I can make Angie and Clarice happy, do you?" I asked him with a raised brow. He seemed completely surprised by it. Okay, how the hell do people see me anyway?! "I spent a lot of time worrying that they were making a mistake and that they could do better than me. I didn't even know what activities they would enjoy."

"So how did you overcome it? I've seen how Angelica and Clarice practically glow when they are around you." He asked in a hopeful tone. I smiled and glanced to the side where Livia was happily talking to an uncomfortable looking Marie.

"A good friend asked me to close my eyes and only think about what I really wanted to do with that person." I said, recalling the advice she gave me back in summer.

"What I want to do?" Chris muttered while cupping his chin.

"Don't think about what the rest of the boys would do. Don't even think about what you think you should do. Just imagine what you want Marie to do together with you." I said as Chris closed his eyes. I knew he was onto something when he smiled and opened his eyes.

"Thank you, Leon. I really appreciate it." He said before shaking my hand.

"Just paying a good deed forward. You ready to sweep your girl off her feet?" I asked just as the drinks we ordered conveniently arrived with perfect timing, the old bartender giving us a wink. How mysterious.

He nodded. "I'm ready to try."

"You seem to enjoy teasing Marie a lot. Why is that?" He asked me as we walked back to where Livia and Marie were.

"She reminds me of my little sister." I said distractedly, recalling certain memories from times long past. Of a vicious little girl that I just wanted to have a normal sibling relationship with.

"Ah, from the Bartfort estate?" Chris asked in understanding.

"Sure." I lied through my teeth.

We arrived at the Southern island after breakfast without incident, most of the students looked around in clear interest at the exotic location. To me, it was like a glimpse of an old dream. Why was a totally traditional Japanese themed island smack in Holfort's territory? Who cares! It had great weather and was apparently a prime tourist destination. To add to the atmosphere, all the girls wore yukatas as everyone went their separate ways to explore.

I may have been a bit more homesick than I thought as I requested a yukata set for men. The others were surprised when I came out wearing a pretty plain looking dark blue yukata instead of my school uniform. As expected, Chris asked Marie to walk around with him to explore the island. I gave him a thumbs up for encouragement as the two of them walked off.

"So, where do you want to go first?" I asked Livia, who was looking around the very traditional looking Japanese village. She had the regular white yukata that most of the girls were wearing.

"I don't know! Everything is so different!" I couldn't help but chuckle at her childlike wonder.

"Well, let's just walk around then and see what we can find." I offered and Livia agreed immediately. I wondered what Control thought about the whole thing, they were probably also looking around while keeping an eye on Livia.

The two of us eventually found ourselves at a big Japanese Rock Garden. There were other students there speaking to the staff that apparently maintained the place.

"A garden made entirely out of rocks, pebbles, and sand. How novel!" We both turned to the person who suddenly spoke up behind us. She was clearly from a rich noble family, clear blue eyes, long blonde hair styled into curls that resembled drills. Her light blue yukata was of a better quality than the ones other girls wore, having the pattern of the sky with clouds passing by. She turned to us and tilted her head. "The two of you are students from the Academy as well, yes?"

"First years, yes." I confirmed with a nod and her eyes seemed to light up.

"I see, Deirdre Fou Roseblade." She introduced herself with a flip of her admittedly shiny hair. Roseblade? I didn't recall anyone with that name from the game. Was she an upper year? "An interesting choice to also dress in a yukata."

"It's comfy and easy to wear." I reasoned with a shrug. I then gave the girl a respectful bow and introduced myself. "Leon Fou Bartfort. Nice to meet you, Miss Roseblade."

"A-ah! I'm Olivia. It's nice to meet you as well, Miss Roseblade!" Livia quickly introduced herself as well, earning an intrigued look from Deirdre.

"Hm? You are a commoner?" She mused before her eyes widened in recognition. "Ah, you must be the Special Scholarship Student then."

"You, I already know about. Your defense of the Redgrave and Atlee daughters' hearts has become quite the tale, Doom Knight." She said after looking back at me.

"What did you call me?" The hell kind of name is Doom Knight?!

"Hm? You don't know? It's what some in the court have started referring to you as. Apparently, King Roland was the one who originally coined the term." The King did what?! Why didn't anyone tell me?! Now people might end up seeing me as some sort of supervillain or something!

"Wasn't that what you referred to your Armor as during your duel with the prince?" Deirdre asked with a furrowed brow.

"He did!" Livia happily answered with a nod.

"For you guys…Doom."

"I did." I groaned out.

"I must say, the way you completely outclassed their Armors then was quite exciting!" Deirdre's voice became more and more passionate as she spoke. "None of them ever stood a chance!"

"Leon's Black Bunny is really fast!" Livia matched her enthusiasm as the two of them nodded together.

The blonde noble moved closer to Livia as she started to breathe harder. "Far faster than an Armor its size should be! There was incredible grace and dignity in the way it flew around a scant few feet from the ground!"

"Yeah! And then it went Pow! Whack! Bop!" Livia exclaimed while acting out an approximation of Getter Razor, Spike, and Tomahawk.

"Right?!" Deirdre wholeheartedly agreed and the two girls high fived with a cheer. Wait, did these two just become friends?!

Apparently they did as we had a new member to our party while we explored the rest of the island. There wasn't a lot there that I didn't remember seeing from the days I used to spend in the countryside with my grandparents when I was a kid. Livia and Deirdre seemed to really enjoy all the traditional sweets, the bean paste buns certainly gave me a moment of nostalgia.

Deirdre was examining a wooden carving that depicted an eagle, a jaguar, and a bear at a stall while Livia and I hung back a few feet. I looked around and there seemed to be more locals and tourists than Academy students now. There were people that looked like they were headed to work, some families, and even a few couples walking around.

"What do you think the two of us look like to all these people, Livia?" I whispered to her. She blinked at me and tilted her head to the side and took up a thinking expression.

"Hm? A two friends out for the day, right?" She responded with an earnest smile.

"Right, of course." For once, it wasn't a smile I could fully return.

Deirdre actually bought the animal carving from earlier and was now carrying it around with her. "What is that strange structure there?"

She was pointing at a large red torii gate that marked the start of a winding stairway up the side of a hill. There were several more torii gates placed periodically on the way up. I guessed that there was a Shrine up there. I was about to suggest asking one of the locals when someone beat me to it.

"That is called a Torii Gate." A female voice answered from somewhere behind us. "They are typically placed on the path to a Shrine to symbolically indicate the transition to a sacred area."

We turned around and I bit my tongue to stop myself from screaming. This definitely wasn't in the game!

Hair like the dead of night, eyes like freshly spilt blood, skin nearly as white as bone.

Hertrude Sera Fanoss, the Principality's Princess, stood in front of us with a gentle smile on her face. She was wearing a beautiful black formal yukata that was sprinkled with cherry blossom flower designs.

WHAT WAS THE FINAL BOSS DOING OUT HERE?!

I had memorized her face since she was the one who summons the actual final enemy that you fight. It was normally twisted in desperate grief and anger at that point, a far cry from how she looked in front of us.

"You are quite knowledgeable, are you a local perhaps miss…?" Deirdre trailed off, looking for a name. She didn't recognize one of the princesses of Fanoss? Maybe she never saw her before?

"Gertrude. And no, I am merely fond of this place and periodically visit it." She did? How has she never caused an international incident?! And really? Gertrude?

"Are you alone, Gertrude?" Livia asked while looking around. No way, there had to be some undercover–

Hertrude shook her head. "Normally, I come here with my sister. But I am presently visiting this place alone."

"Why don't we check out what's at the end of those stairs then, huh?" I suggested. Hopefully, Gertrude would take the hint before our names could be revealed.

"Why don't you join us, Gertrude? It would be better than walking around alone." No Livia! Your kindness was misplaced this time! This girl was going to be the cause of all our problems in the future!

Unfortunately, our other companion was on the same wavelength and quickly introduced us. "That is a wonderful idea. I am Deirdre Fou Roseblade, these are Olivia and Leon Fou Bartfort."

"Academy students?" Hertrude asked with a tilt of her head, my poker face getting a workout when she peered into my eyes.

"It's a school trip." I answered in hopes of fooling her that I totally didn't know who she was.

"I would not want to impose upon the nobility." The Principality's princess said with a bow.

"Nonsense! We are here to be immersed in the culture! Do not bother with any social divides that we may have!" Deirdre proudly declared, making Hertrude look up and regard her more carefully.

"If you insist, then I shall be happy to accompany you." And that was how the main protagonist and the final boss happily talked to one another as they walked up to a Japanese shrine.

When we arrived at the top, both Livia and Deirdre looked in wonder at the structures and the shrine maidens that dotted the place. They quickly walked off to explore and I found myself alone with the most dangerous person in the game. I tensed up when I noticed her stand right next to me and even lean closer.

"You may cease your worry, Bringer of Doom." She whispered. What?! Even Fanoss was calling me that now?! "I have no designs for you or your women this day."

"Gave up after setting up that ambush with the Offreys?" I couldn't help but shoot back at her.

To my surprise, Hertrude actually looked at me in complete confusion. "Offrey? My sister and I never ordered an attack agains–"

"Leon! Gertrude! What are you two doing there, come over here!" We both turned to Livia who walked back for us. She quickly took our hands and pulled us along to where Deirdre was waiting. She was the actual shrine itself with a donation box in front of it.

"I was informed by the small maiden that manages this shrine that we can make a donation here and offer a prayer to the gods." She explained before pulling out some money and putting it between the slits on the top of the box. Livia soon followed even as I gave a worried glance at the girl next to me. Hertrude didn't seem to share my apprehension as she also placed a donation to the shrine.

"What are you waiting for Leon?" Livia asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. I decided to play along and place some money in the donation box.

"Now we can pray to the shrine and even wish for something apparently." The four of us lined up next to each other and closed my eyes in prayer. Honestly, my only real wish was for Livia to snap out of whatever she caught herself and us in so we could all go back to normal.

"So what did you pray for Deirdre?" Livia asked with the subtlety of a Getter Tomahawk.

Incredibly, Deirdre actually looked shy and started blushing. "I wished to find a man that would be worthy to become my husband."

"Awww! That's so sweet! I hope your wish comes true!" Ever the sweetheart, that Livia.

"Thank you, Livia." Deirdre smiled at her. Huh? When did she start calling her Livia? "And what of yourself?"

She gave a bright smile and gave the answer I expected her to. "I prayed for the happiness of my friends."

The two girls looked at me expectantly and I just shrugged at them.

"Honestly, same. I prayed for the sake of a friend." Specifically, the one standing to the girl with drill-like hair.

"What about you Gertrude?" Said drill-haired girl asked our other companion.

"Salvation for my sister. Hope for myself. Doom for those who would do us harm." Even Livia looked like she didn't know what to say to that. Just couldn't help but be cryptic huh?

"I see." Deirdre finally said after a few moments of awkward silence.

Eventually, night fell and a festival suddenly sprung out from nowhere all around us. Huh, I guess this was part of the reason the school trip was scheduled this way. As expected, the girls quickly made for all the exotic food. Livia in particular insisted on trying out everything, then she found the festival games.

I stood in complete shock as Livia used a simple toy magic gun to hit bullseye after bullseye in rapid succession. It seemed that Deirdre, Hertrude, and the person manning the stall all felt the same way.

"Very impressive. I had not expected you to be so adept with firearms." Neither did I! Where did this come from?!

"Oh! Well, Leon suggested that I keep practicing on using a gun." Wait, was she talking about what I told her in our first Adventuring class? She's been working on shooting ever since?! Livia asked for the giant bunny plushie as her price, because of course she did.

Hertrude blinked when Livia then handed the bunny to her. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"You said that you have a sister right? You can give it to her if you want."

"Thank you, Olivia." She said in bewilderment. I guess even the final boss wasn't immune to Livia's charisma. We walked around some more and I even noticed Chris and Marie laughing together in the distance. Good for him!

"There was another reason why I came to this island alone today." Hertrude spoke up when the other two girls went off to check yet another stall. I looked back to her as she had stopped walking.

"An elven sage gave me a prophecy once, that I would find my destined one here. To hold them close as they would be my sister's salvation and my hope." She gave me a mysterious smile even as she clutched the bunny plushie into herself. "It seems that fate works in strange ways, Bringer of Doom."

"Tell Olivia that I appreciate her gift. I shall see you soon." And like she was never there, Hertrude Sera Fanoss vanished into the crowd.