Chapter 94: Save 48 – Aster’s Nobles

The Altfode Kingdom Academy.

It had been several weeks since the new semester of the school year started.

Alisa and Airi had been working very hard for the academy since the aftermath of the war.

Many students had fled with their families for not showing up for the war call.

They were stripped of their titles, land and would be executed if they returned.

The students left over from last year, whether new or older, were in a panic as they had been fined for not going to war or treason. Many of them did not know what to do, they were allowed to study as otherwise the number of nobles would be lower than it is.

Many approached Alisa with their heads bowed, even those who betrayed her and spat.

Alisa showed them the warm smile that Airi does, that was because she didn't care who they were. She just wanted to use the opportunity to show how aristocrats were supposed to behave, even though that word is no longer used.

In her busy schedule of meeting with professors and attending classes, Alisa was meeting with a fellow graduate.

Her classmate was the daughter of an important nobleman, her name was Eleonora von Roseblaire, or Ellen to her inner circle.

Alisa knew of her, but they never spoke until the incident on the cruise. That day they had to talk to each other whether they wanted to or not.

Ellen wore a red dress as a work uniform, that was because she worked as a diplomat in the embassy of a foreign kingdom.

Her hair was cyan blue that reached to her back and chest, at the end of her hair there were curls in the shape of holes. Her eyes were fuchsia pink.

Both her lips and nails were painted the same color as her hair. She displayed an aura of a strange gothic lolita style ojou-sama.

The most highlighting detail of her dress was her large chest which she proudly displayed. It looked like Ellen and Alisa's chest, battling to see who was firmer.

"Do the students complain that they don't have servants? How do you know that in the first place?"

"That's right. Because of last year's traitorous servants, the palace-backed academy eliminated them. The reason is because they want to re-educate the young ones. Their families spoiled them too much to the point that they don't even know how to dress. Besides, I have my sources, fufufu."

Alisa was embarrassed to hear that since she was the same way until she was ten years old. The queen, Lecia, disciplined her very strongly for being very rebellious. She was ashamed of her dark past as a spoiled princess.

"If you complain about nonsense. Leave the academy and then come back."

"I'm afraid they can't do that."

Ellen sipped her cup of tea gracefully.

"The number of girls in itself is low and if we remove any more nobles, the commoners will think we're weakening. Remember last year there was outrage over insurrections in different territories."

Alisa closed her eyes in exasperation when she heard that.

While Ellen tapped the rim of the cup and blurted out an inappropriate comment.

"I miss his tea."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Alisa glared at Ellen with a very stern look. She saw her red eyes clearly showing her annoyance at her comment.

She smiled at the sight of her.

"Nothing. I was just wondering if the most important person in this country after the royal family was okay."

"He's fine, I assure you. He's so well you don't need to ask about him."

"It's a pity, I would have liked to have gone for a ride to Aster too."

"He went to study, not for a walk."

"He did? We're talking about the same man, aren't we? Maybe he goes around conquering girls without knowing it and telling them that his name has some special meaning, fufufu, I still remember that day I was so shocked I didn't know what to say."

Ellen's mocking tone made Alisa's face show her anger.

"Don't worry. Thanks to the new reform, Rudel, my boyfriend, my future husband. He won't have the need to go for other women since the kingdom abolished the law of having more than one wife. He only needs the legal wife and his concubine who are also his best friends."

Alisa smiled victoriously as she stared at Ellen who continued to speak in a playful tone.

"Is that so? As far as I know you can still have concubines let alone mistresses. Don't you ever know of what a man and more so, one with his fame can do?"

Alisa exuded a deep sinister aura as she watched Ellen give her a mocking reply, but then Ellen's tone changed to a question.

"More importantly. haven't you received a letter recently?"

Alisa blushed due to the fact that a letter had recently arrived for them.

"Y-Yes. He says he misses us very much and is having a great time over there. His Highness and the others are calling for attention, and he wishes we were with him too."

"I'm going to puke at how corny that sounds."

Ellen showed a disgusted look on her face as she heard about the happy life Rudel and the others were spending.

"If he enjoy a quiet life it's not bad despite everything he experienced here last year. By the way, Alicelotte. The girls' problem is one, but the boys' problem is another."

Alisa looked at Ellen who was now serious.

"I'm sure you heard this. It's about three freshmen with potential coming in this year. Two of them are boys and one girl."

"Yeah, what's up with that?"

"Recently, there's a group of commoners who are getting a lot of attention. Not because they are doing anything wrong, but because they are showing their discontent with the nobles because of what happened in the war."

"I understand their discontent, but I don't see what's odd about it or much less what those two boys you're talking about have to do with it."

"Those two boys are troublemakers, I hear that when they go out to the dungeons, they always cause trouble. And there's a third, a commoner about your own age who goes around being the center of attention both ways."

"May I know who that is?"

Ellen's mouth twitched to say an unimaginable name.

"A guy named Fritz."

"Fritz? I don't know him."

"Last year he didn't get to finish the school year as he was hospitalized for a fight he had, don't know who it was, but he ended up in a coma and woke up during the chaos of the war. He's currently repeating first year, but the problem is he says the nobles were responsible for the blood of innocents spilled."

Alisa looked at Ellen in amazement.

"I-I should look for an opportunity and talk to them, tell them that it was all the traitors' fault."

"I'm of the same opinion. You never know when there's a bomb about to blow up in your face."

"You should also stop being so monopolizing. A man needs lovers."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

Alisa looked at Ellen with razor-sharp eyes.

(Convincing the legal wife will be problematic. And more so a girl who thinks she's a woman, no doubt you were responsible for turning her into a lovesick fool. But, it´s not that I hate that about you, fufufu.)

(This woman... doesn't she understand that Rudel doesn't need mistresses?)

Alisa's angry eyes then turned to an empty chair, that chair was where he sat, as this place was where Rudel used to invite them to drink tea and play board games.

Alisa's eyes got warm and they both had the same thought.

(I really miss you, come back soon, silly).

◇

Time passed slowly, before I knew it a month and a half had passed.

The sun was setting. The classes were a lot of fun, albeit the loud kind.

You could tell this was a country with an elite education.

Professor Malcolm, a man with a badly trimmed beard and a rumpled shirt was showing us through a drawing, a magic formula to create ice.

In the kingdom elemental magic was used, but there were more magics apparently. They varied from the type of the country supposedly.

There was laser beam magic, levitating, freezing, creating volcanic spheres. The world was bigger than I thought. You could tell those crappy developers were motivated by the fact that fantasy elements were in short supply.

The professor created a small ice tympanum in his hand and wanted us to do it too, beforehand I told him that my magic power was very small and that I could only create a small flame on my finger.

He laughed thinking I was joking, I was hurt by that.

The other students were doing it as I remembered something Erselica said a few weeks ago.

(The heroine's matriarchal house name was Vermillion.)

(Her house was the oldest of all being the founder.)

(Being such an important house and possessing the power to talk to the sacred tree. Why would the head of Rosenberg Household eliminate them being the only ones who can communicate with the sacred tree? He should have taken the daughters hostage, that's another one. How did they escape.)

No doubt there are many unresolved questions.

"Well, that's all for today guys. You're free until tomorrow, don't forget to review what we learned today, you never know when a pop quiz will show up."

"And Bradford-kun, you should at least use some kind of outside help since your little problem can be harmful down the road."

Hey, don't say it like that. Everyone will think I have a different problem other than my magic power.

Since the class was over, it was time to go. Lucy, who was sitting in front of me, turned around.

She sat down while hugging the back of the chair and looked at my notebook, her smile was refreshing.

However, sitting with her legs spread like that. I didn't think it was appropriate for a girl. Let alone one with plump pink thighs.

The flesh of her thighs seemed to be the soft-to-the-touch type from the way they looked.

"Were you able to understand the class without a problem?"

"Yes. Thanks to your advice, I can understand the native language more now."

"Hehehe, I never imagined you could read lips."

"Neither did I."

Obviously I won't say that an AI helped me.

I looked at Liam with interest to see how he's doing.

It bothered me and I felt very envious to see him, who has a great amount of magic power, get a big ice tympanum from a small magic circle.

The worst thing is that it's his first time.

"Liam-kun you are amazing."

"To be able to create something that big, your magic power must be very high."

"Royalty is definitely something not to be taken lightly."

Of course, mostly because he's the main character.

"Thank you. It's very easy for me to get used to here and the classes. Since, no one treats me like the crown prince and also I am free to learn subjects that are not of only political interest."

It is just as he says, at first when he arrived, he was scared, but as the days went by, he opened up more to everyone and even seems to have a fan club and gets along with everyone. Is this the power of the protagonist?

On the other hand, to me, the villain on duty, the only one who talks to me is Lucy and Erselica when we get together. I feel bad knowing that the unpopular guys are always simpletons like me.

It wasn't just him, the other four guys, that includes Clovis' grape head, are really popular and also seem like their grades are the best in their hall. I want to cry seeing how these good looking guys are better than me.

"Hey, hey, I'm going to take Erselica-chan, Cana-chan and Allen-kun to the market, do you want to come?"

Lucy was casually and cheerfully asking me a simple question. This girl has a very honest mouth as she thinks that I surely have nothing to do.

It's sad that it's true.

I planned to amuse myself later by thinking about the girls dressed as bunnies. A black bunny girl alisa and a white Airi bunny girl skipping merrily.

I unintentionally flashed my disgusting perverted smile.

"What's with that weird face?"

"Nothing! I remembered something delicious I ate. Answering your question. I regretfully decline it. I'm meeting with Warren since he wants my help on things related to the lost and found."

"Hey, but I wanted you to carry our stuff! Oops, I said that out loud."

"You're too honest a girl."

I laughed a little at her honesty.

"Wait. You thought I was asking you out on a date? Too bad. Even though I'm like that, I'm not an easy woman to conquer, you'd have to take me on a lot of dates first."

(Even though you say that, you have a lot of openings in the way you express yourself.)

(But you still give an impression that you don't seem easy to conquer.)

"Those words broke my fragile heart. Are you sure you don't have a secret boyfriend and that's why you reject me?"

Lucy's expression turned cloudy.

"I want a boyfriend, but having one will also bring another problem."

"Another problem? Is it a different problem than the Rosenberg Household princess you mentioned the other day?"

"Yes. And the problem comes from a prince this time."

A prince?

There was one thing I learned after coming to the realm of aristocratic supremacy.

Each of the six great nobles was a king who ruled his respective floating island.

Those six kings gathered under the sacred tree and ruled the country called Aster under an oligarchy-type governorship.

That is why the middle name of each of the six great nobles was different.

What a troublesome environment it was to tell who was a blood relative and who was a distant one.

"It's a guy named Jude Gaia Banfield. He'd get excited all by himself and wouldn't listen to me. I really don't like him. He's telling everyone that he's my boyfriend, but I won't accept it at all. Even though he was a nice guy before the new year."

Lucy was discouraged. I watched her face as she broke out in a cold sweat.

By Jude, did she mean the one who was treated as the second top target, even among the capture targets?

Huh, did Lucy really hate him?

"Is he telling everyone he's your boyfriend?"

"Don't take him seriously. He's just lying."

I wanted to ask her a little more about it, but everyone was already leaving.

◇

"I understand. The technology of the lost item varies from the type of dungeon it's in."

Warren and I were in a cafe chatting about lost item. This guy is very curious about them.

"Yeah. I don't know what kind of dungeon it is, but the one I was in and conquered. The lost object is different."

"But count, doesn't your island have a dungeon?"

"No. It was all in public view. It seems to me they didn't even make an effort."

Bullshit, I don't think it's a dungeon, but it was certainly hidden in a secret place, but I won't tell you that.

"I see, I..."

"Warren, I'm hungry ~."

The one who was complaining like a child was the grape head. It seems that he follows him everywhere since he can study here thanks to him.

"Clovis, I already told you that if you want to leave you can go."

"Huh? Do you want your father to kill me despite saving my ass? Never."

"Nobody sends you to be a scumbag."

I blurted out that little comment for only me to hear.

"Hey, haven't you heard that rumor lately."

"Rumor?"

"Yeah, one that says the students of the desert kingdom of Danafor have dropped out of school."

"I think I heard that."

"But it's not just that, other kids from different realms too."

I stared at Clovis and he was startled.

"W-What's the matter Bradford, you want a fight?"

"It's not that purple idiot. What you said is very suspicious."

Missing foreign students?

Is something going on or did their countries just call them back because of a crisis?

"Oh, the desserts came, yay!"

(Admittedly, it's very strange that romantic events are happening, but none related to the affair. We've made sure Liam isn't going to bother the places Erselica said. But will there be an event related to students dropping out of school.)

◇◇◇

At the same time, but in another Aster location.

"Run, you western bitch, run!"

A group of young men were chasing a tan-skinned boy in vehicles at a low speed.

If they were at normal speed they would have caught up with him, that's why they are going at a slow speed, but the foreign boy was all beat up to keep running and passed out.

"Derrick-sama, this scumbag passed out, what do we do?"

"Hah, are you serious? It's obvious we'll send him back to his embassy like this, yuju."

"But first, let's wash him a bit."

The leader, Derrick, pulled down his pants and a golden shower was falling on the boy's head.

"Gyahahahaha. With this, how many guys are we going?"

"I think that's all of them."

"Really!?"

"Actually. Altfode would be missing."

"Oh, those pests right, did you find out about them?"

The golden rain zigzagged down as Derrick moved comically side to side.

"We managed to find out that they bring us no profit. They are buyers, but they currently owe a debt to Aster due to a large amount of magic stones required."

The golden shower ended. Derrick pulled a cigarette from his pants and placed it in his mouth.

"My amusement has been short lived, but I hear one of the foreign airships is a very striking one."

"Indeed, it is Altfode's."

"Good."

The cigarette flared.

"Tomorrow we'll go after those pests. I hope they amuse me more than the other scumbags who didn't even put up a fight."

Derrick and his lackeys climbed into their vehicles. They started them up and stepped on the accelerator at full speed.

The tires of almost every vehicle had a red stain on them.

"Give me a lot of fun. Altfode."

◇

A new day had arrived.

I was with Erselica having lunch at our usual hideout. We had already been spotted by the workmen, they think we are a couple and leave us alone.

Such kind and irresponsible guys, we are not one and they should kick us out as it is a construction site!

We were talking about the events of the game.

"How come Lucy hates Jude? In the game, he showed jealousy of Liam because of how close they were, so she was looking for trouble with him, but he's a good guy, he just doesn't know how to be honest. In the end they end up becoming good friends like he was with Klein."

Hearing that name, we both freaked out.

"R-Really... that good friends or is it just what you think?"

"I-I hope he's really just a dishonest guy. It would be very problematic if he was the stalker type since his personality is to be the pushy type who won't listen to 'no' for an answer."

Jude in the game had the second best parameters after Liam.

You are reading story World Ixion/SAGA at novel35.com

Erselica was completely lost.

"The younger sister, Diana, is close with the giggly Lugh, while Lucy is being pursued by Jude--- but, the villainess is targeting Lucy..."

Her eyes looked crooked due to the confusion she was feeling. Erselica scratched her head roughly and ruffled her hair.

"I DON'T GET IIIIT! I DON'T KNOW WHO THE HEROINE IS!"

She looked at Erselica who looked like her head was going to explode.

Ixion was coming flying towards my right shoulder. I sent him off to gather more information.

"It seems to be true. Everyone around them sees and recognizes them as lovers."

"Isn't it troublesome that the heir of an important house has a girl from a ruined house as a mistress?"

"According to what I have gathered. Her family doesn't care, they would treat her as a mistress whether they want her or not. So they don't see a problem with it."

"What carefree parents."

Erselica added to the explanation.

"But she had a serious atmosphere in the game. Later the situation will change because the heroine is chosen as the offspring's priestess. They will be able to formally relate and in the end it would be a happy ending where they both get married."

"I see, so this priestess position is like being a 'saint' in the kingdom."

The heroine of the original game when she was going to be an otome, Airi, would originally be recognized as the saint, and thus be allowed to marry Crown Prince Liam or the other noble heirs. It looks like the same theme they used, but changed it to an RPG game. What miserable developers.

Ixion made a suggestion to me.

"Master, in this case I think it will be safer if Lucy also becomes a lover of one of the conquest targets, just in case."

"But it doesn't look like Lucy is interested. Hmm, who were the other conquest targets?"

Erselica began counting on her fingers.

"Well... Jude the pushy, Lugh the giggly..."

Names that described characters from a girl's game no doubt were. The men who didn't make complaints must have been rare.

"The gloomy onii-sama Linus... Spoiled Tom-kun, the useless character who is Derrick's older brother, but who no girl would choose since he was a kept man."

"Also... Good-for-nothing Zack and nerdy Romeo!"

"... What the hell are those names?"

Seriously, what the hell did I just hear.

"Don't complain, I remember them like that. Not counting Liam, that's seven captures and allies, but only six of them matter. Derrick's older brother is a guy whose only value is that he's attractive. In the game you always got the happy ending, but in a grotesque way since this guy was a pig. They made him a hidden character for a reason, so that his house wouldn't be left up in the air."

"As for the others. Linus and Tom, Thomas he's actually called, but everyone calls him Tom affectionately. They are stepbrothers. Tom was adopted as a child and Linus was the first to realize his potential. They both love each other very much as Linus always supported him despite being from another branch of the family. Tom is also known as the best pilot of Aster's armed units, he is also a model and studies at the university."

University, the most normal place in the world in my previous life.

School study time is three years everywhere, but it seems that in Aster they prepare them to enter university. An elitist country is normal to have this. The kingdom, demonstrating its incompetence once again thanks to Leonis.

Those with the best grades get into the university. Their status does not matter. The time of study is five years, the first two are smooth as you specialize in the career you want to follow.

Undoubtedly a powerhouse in every aspect is this place. They give scholarship to commoners if they are very smart.

"Linus is also the mature character that the girls like, it seems that for the men he's kind of like a sidekick you can count on in their would do work."

Oh, that makes sense to me. You can always count on a friendly, but reliable manager or supervisor.

But why shady?

Must be strict maybe, that in a company is also a sign of an environment that doesn't take game. It's good that, but without laughter everything is sinister.

"Zack is the son of one of the branches of Wayne Household, I don't quite remember why he was heir. I just know that both Liam and the main character have problems with him since he's a tough kid who only hangs out in the dungeon."

"In this place there are dungeons too?"

"Yes. Now with the most annoying one. The son of Rosenberg Household."

"Wait, because the son of the villainess house also participates?"

"Umm, I think it's because he's the kind of goofy younger brother that many are looking for. At an early age it was revealed that he was a genius and that's why he was always spending his time studying and ended up getting into classes."

"He's a very smart kid I see."

"Yes. That's why you know about the truth of Vermilion Household. His father told it one day when he was drunk. His sister knew and so did he, but he was afraid. But in Liam's version, he and the heroine, she opens his heart and tells everything. Mind you, he dies at the hands of his cruel sister."

"Hey, what kind of horror story is this!"

"I think it would be very monotonous that everything would be bliss. So they did this. Truth be told, no one complained. In the end, the Rosenberg Household as it is destroyed it is normal for all the family members to be executed. It was never known what became of the princess."

"For a game with clichéd romantic elements, it's very creepy."

"Now do you understand a little of its popularity?"

"I'm afraid so."

Certainly, a plot twist like that would be very entertaining in any game.

"Ahhh!"

Erselica suddenly cried out.

"I forgot!"

"Brother, didn't Lucy tell you something about the fair that opened last week!"

"No, why?"

Erselica was sweating like she was in a sauna.

"That event was the one that marked whether you were making progress with Tom!"

"Ehh?"

"Without that event, you won't be able to get Linus' attention since one of his spies was watching you!"

"Ahhhh damn it!"

"What is it now?"

"There was an event today too! It was about a book exhibition where Romeo was opening up to you for the first time and where Liam was learning about the Rosenberg Household!"

"Is it too late for that?"

"It was ending at this time!"

Hey, don't be scaring me.

"That's three missed routes already! No, four! Derrick's brother had to have a run-in with her at the market, I was with her and at no time did I see him."

"Hey, this has automatically wiped out more than half of them!"

"We would only have Zack and Jude left! Lugh is with Diana."

"Forget about Zack! That guy only shows up in dungeons and the heroine accompanies Liam because she possibly had an interest in him."

"That means there's only the guy Lucy hates left!"

"That's right!"

"Noooooo!!!"

Erselica and I screamed at the top of our lungs.

We had lost conquests without even realizing it. The worst part was that we couldn't count on Liam.

"What are we supposed to do now if Lucy doesn't get a mate! The sacred tree will turn into a monster and destroy this country and then go to the kingdom. It's really bad. At this rate, we'll really have to destroy it first."

I'm terrified. I felt like a spy saving the world and now on my first mission without realizing it I watched the countdown to the end.

Ixion save me!

"Hold on..."

I looked at Erselica in panic until she spoke to me.

"What is it now?"

"Something occurred to me after remembering a certain thing."

"...?"

"Onii-chan, you... you were the one who finished off Bandel and saved us instead of Liam."

"Yeah, so? What are you getting at?"

"Onii-chan... what if you..."

At that moment, Erselica said the craziest thing anyone could imagine.

"You replace Liam as the main character and conquer Lucy?"

"..."

At that moment where it seemed like time stood still.

Me and Erselica fell to the floor as we laughed at what he said.

"Hahaha, my stomach hurts."

"Hahaha, sorry, sorry. But it just seemed like a good idea in my head before I said it."

"Do you think a guy like me could become the protagonist of a cliché fantasy world?"

"I would never take your crazy ideas as a joke master."

I looked at Ixion as Erselica rolled around like a hamster.

"Don't talk nonsense. The main character is Liam."

"So it would seem. But you were engaged to Airi, who would become his wife. You were the one who killed the bloody knight and you were the one who saved the kingdom and not Liam."

"... Ixion, you're starting to scare me. Don't make ridiculous jokes."

"I don't have a laughter simulator equipped or programmed."

"Master, you are a man who can alter any variable about the logic of this world."

Ixion was really starting to scare me.

"What are you trying to say?"

His red lens glared at me with intensity.

"I'm just saying... you may have already replaced Liam as the protagonist since the end of the war. Sure, if we apply the logic that this is a game world."

"That's impossible... me, I'm just a simple peasant who had the misfortune of being reincarnated in a cliché game and has awakened as the villain who serves as a stepping stone for the protagonist."

"Protagonist you defeated and destroyed his growth, according to Erselica there your motives for destroying him."

This is no longer funny. You make it seem like everything that will happen in my life, is a product of some higher force moving to make the gears of the story turn with some replacement.

"I'm not Liam's replacement or the protagonist!"

I'm not. I'm not...

"I know. But with you. Anything crazy is possible."

Ixion, stop acting like you think I'm really the main character in some game.

I'm a background character. I'm not the hero who will save the world.

◇

It was time to say goodbye to today's school day.

I was waiting for the train to pass by via that would take me to the vicinity of the street where I must walk to go home.

The atmosphere is what you would expect, no doubt from a classic movie.

The cars despite being called modern are just long classic cars.

They run on magic stones instead of gasoline which is economical and healthy for the environment.

You don't smell the pollution like in my previous life where I couldn't breathe well because of the exhaust and cigarette smoke in the air.

"Oh, Rudel-kun, over here!"

Lucy was coming toward me in a very cheerful manner.

I asked her to call me by my first name as it feels weird for a girl to call me by my last name.

There were several students waiting for their respective train tracks to go to their homes. Best of all, for the same value as the cost of an energy drink you can go all over the city without getting off.

"Hi, where are you going?"

"Before I go home I'm going to the market. There are sales on vegetables today."

I remember hearing from Erselica that she would look for a way to leave early to get there in time to buy a bunch.

"You really seem familiar with this. Almost, like you've always ridden one."

That's because I did it daily to get to work.

"I'm a fast learner. Plus, unlike my aircraft, it moves around a lot."

"Oh, that's right. You had one. Being a count is awesome."

"No doubt. What do you say, you want to come up one day? It'll be free."

"Are you flirting with me?"

I became alert as I remembered what Ixion said.

"No~ I was just being friendly, there's really no bad intentions!"

"Eeh~, though I'd be happier if you were actually trying to flirt with me."

She spoke with a disappointed tone, yet she graciously declined my invitation.

The good thing is that the misunderstanding of the flirtation remained a joke. It would be really problematic for me if she thought I was looking to get intimate with her.

I have girlfriends. I can't be unfaithful to them.

"Too bad! I'm sorry to tell you that my kind of guy is the reliable kind of guy for all times and I can always guarantee he'll be there for me."

He looks like a great guy if there was one like that. I'd like to be that kind of guy for Alisa and Airi.

Suddenly, Lucy's cheerful face changed to a somber one.

"Is something wrong?"

"Don't turn around. Here comes the girl I told you about."

(The girl... That means the villainess!)

A voice called out from behind.

(The woman who is supposed to be somewhat similar to Alisa's role at this stage of the game. The wicked girl who together with her father wants to destroy this country. My enemy in a way too.)

"Oh dear, can't you go a single day without denigrating women looking for a man? You really are a dirty woman, aren't you, Lucy-san? How many men are you planning to devour today?"

Her voice was very cute and charming. But her tone was very sharp like a viper.

Lucy faced her so she wouldn't bother me too.

"Sara, why are you here? Someone rich like you should go home right away in her car."

"I told them to wait for me, so you have nothing to worry about."

"Leave me alone, go home!"

The people around us looked on awkwardly.

I turned around to say a few modest words from man to annoyed woman.

"I'm sorry to tell you that we're just acquaintances. You don't need to draw wrong assumptions."

There, stood a beautiful woman. No doubt with her elegant appearance made her look like a princess despite wearing the same uniform. The only unexpected detail was, that her breasts were huge! Not only that, firm too!

I was in the presence of a possible ojou-sama clone of Alisa.

The fingers of her right hand touched her lips. While her right elbow rested on her left hand and she was looking at us in a playful manner.

She heard what I said. The villainess opened her mouth to address me as well, but....

"Is that so? I'm sorry to tell you that this woman is a bad omen for anyone so it's best for you to stay... away..."

The villainess was speechless.

Her half-open mouth opened wide as did her eyelids.

Her eyes stared at me. She seemed to be looking at the most hideous thing in the world.

Am I really that ugly?

She dropped her arms and looked at me as she trembled.

Lucy grabbed my arm to get on the track train that seemed to be leaving.

"Rudel-kun, hurry up and get on!"

As I got on, I could hear the villainess who said clearly.

"Ru...del... you say."

After climbing up, our eyes stared at each other.

As we walked away, she reacted and decided to chase after us.

In the end, the speed of a machine is superior to that of a human being.

She stopped running after a short while, but her eyes never blinked at any time.

Even as we moved away, I could see her mouth. Her lips undoubtedly said.

"Rudel..."

That freaked me out, what the hell was that?

Why was she looking at me with that fixation?

She looked like she wanted to cry because of the red in her eyes.

Lucy stared at me and spoke to me after relaxing.

"Did you happen to know her from somewhere?"

"I don't think so. I've never visited Aster."

"So... is this what they call love at first sight? I've never seen Sara act like this."

"I don't think a guy like me is. For a girl like that, a guy similar to Liam would be the one."

"You, you really don't understand the female heart do you? Listen, when love touches you, no matter what that person looks like, your heart will lub lub... well, that's what my friends told me."

"Even if you say that... I think it's kind of impossible for a high-class girl to..."

At that moment, I remembered something that didn't cross my mind.

I was fairly engaged to a girl of the high nobility that only a man of the same rank is supposed to be engaged to. But that girl loves me in a whimsical way always saying that rank doesn't matter.

This can't be like Ixion said... there's no way I'm taking Liam's place as the protagonist.

I looked at my reflection in the streetcar mirror.

"There's no way I'm the kind of guy who can make women fall in love just by looking at them."

"Huh?"

Lucy noticed me say something, but didn't hear her.

Ixion, you're making me paranoid.

◇◇◇

As the track train pulled away.

The villainess, Sara, was staring at a person who was barely visible anymore.

She muttered under her breath as her driver approached.

"Rudel... is that you?"