Chapter 109.1 - Volume 3 Short Story
Otomege Volume 3 Short Story
Short Story – Marie Route
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Part 1
The world couldn’t go like game.
There was no save function or load function in real world.
In life there was no chance to redo.
But, if──one could redo?
If one could redo the time when choosing an important choice, what kind of life would be waiting for them?
If, there was a save data at before enrolling the academy, if Leon chose a different route, how would the story progress?
This was that kind of story.
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Part 2
The spring of my first year where I’m able to safely enroll into the academy.
I, Leon Fou Bartfalt am hiding in a bush of the academy’s backyard.
Hiding together with me is my partner Luxion.
「The prince pondering in front of the pond really look artistic huh. Though in his heart he is only worrying about something trivial like how he is tired being the prince.」
It’s his highness Julius, one of the conquer targets in that otome game.
He is pondering in a place where there is no sign of other people but──this is what you call an event.
『Peeking like this, master has a bad hobby.』
「Because I’m curious. Don’t you think it’s a precious experience to be able to see in real life a famous scene of a game you had thoroughly played?」
It’s the encounter event of the main character with the prince.
The main character who was enthusiastic with expectation toward the academy life slapped the rude prince.
If I can watch the refreshing scene of the prince getting slapped, then of course I’m going to peek.
『Didn’t master say that it’s not your business?』
Certainly it’s not my business but, there is also a curiosity in me.
──I at least want to confirm what kind of girl the main character is.
Is there any difference between the main character that was controlled by player and the real main character?
I’m peeking in order to erase that kind of question.
「I wanted to watch when a handsome man get slapped.」
When I spoke out a random excuse, Luxion shook his single eye horizontally.
His gesture said that he can’t understand.
『Master has a really wonderful personality.』
「You got a lot of sarcasm as usual.」
『Isn’t it master who is giving me a lot of chance for it? ──Oh?』
Luxion’s single eye moved and discovered a girl sneaking toward this way.
She doesn’t notice us hiding here.
That girl──isn’t the main character.
This girl doesn’t look like anyone in the illustration of that otome game’s package.
「That girl──I saw her at the entrance ceremony.」
She was an irritating girl.
It’s not like I hate her but, it made me irritated when seeing her face.
『Master, she is going to talk with Julius. Is she the main character?』
I started moving.
「There’s no way that’s the case. Her look is too different.」
The main character in the game’s illustration is taller and with nicer body style.
She isn’t the main character──maybe.
When I observed her, she is muttering something to herself.
「Calm down, Marie. If you use the encounter event with the prince well and become acquainted with him, then it’s your win.」
I comprehended everything in that instant.
──Aa, this girl is the same like me.
「Luxion, come.」
I sneaked toward the girl──Marie who is measuring the timing to come out, and then I jumped her when she is about to call out at his highness Julius.
I grabbed her arm and covered her mouth before taking her right away from there.
「Nh!」
Marie doesn’t understand what’s going on. She is terribly shocked──and then she became scared.
I kept my hold on her and hurriedly got away from that place to a place where there is nobody else before letting her go.
Then she glared at me while looking scared.
「Wha, what have you done!? I’m in a hurry here. Do you think that it will end well for you after doing something like this? I’ll never forgive you.」
She is acting strong but, it’s clear as day that she is scared.
It felt like I’m facing my little sister from the previous life.
Is that why I’m irritated?
「──Is it because you don’t want me destroying your encounter event with the prince?」
Then Marie’s eyes opened wide before they slowly narrowed.
She is making a colder expression then before.
「Looks like you’re the same like me.」
It seems I’m not mistaken.
「What were you trying to do? Why were you going to come out?」
I somehow guessed what this girl is trying to do.
But, I wanted to confirm it.
「──It’s not your business isn’t it?」
Marie averted her eyes. It seems she tried to make use of the encounter even to get ahead of the main character.
「Obviously it’s my business. You, do you understand what are you doing?」
「You’re annoying! More importantly, release me already. The main character will come if I don’t hurry up!」
Marie tried to run away. I cornered her to the wall and put both my hands on the wall to cut off her path of escape.
The petite Marie is anxious.
「Don’t get in the way. Listen to me, the world will be destroyed if the main character and the conquest targets don’t meet.」
Speaking in game term it means game over.
It’s still too fast for me to meet game over in my life so I’ll refrain from it.
「Haa? Why would that happen? Think of a better line if you want to threaten me. If you don’t let me go, I’ll yell so that people come here. If I yell here, your academy life──no, your life will be over.」
This girl──her personality is as bad as my little sister.
Certainly if this girl yell here, I’ll be seen as the bad guy.
But, it’s strange no matter what.
Why is this girl aiming for the prince?
「You, you have played that otome game right? Then why are you trying to crush the encounter event huh?」
「That’s obvious──」
While she is talking, the sound *Slap!* came from far away.
We knew what is the meaning of that sound.
「So I missed the encounter event that won’t come again.」
Marie fell on her knees while leaning on the wall.
Tears gathered in her eyes.
「No, no way──even though I finally entered the academy. Even though I’ve waited for ten years!」
Tears spilled out in large drops and she began to cry.
「O, oi」
「Even though I thought that I’ll be able to become happy for sure this time! It’s your fault. Because of you, I’ll be poor forever!」
──I don’t like seeing a girl crying because it made me irritated.
『Master, won’t it be better to share information for now?』
I also felt the necessity for that from Luxion’s suggestion.
If she has cleared that otome game, she shouldn’t have any thinking to crush the encounter event.
「Yeah. Oi, stop crying already.」
But, the sound of *kuuuu* came from the stomach of the crying Marie.
Marie instantly stopped crying and pressed her stomach with both hands. She looked embarrassed.
「──Are you hungry?」
Marie nodded a bit.
Her gesture is similar with his little sister from the previous life that he can’t just leave her alone.
Besides, they are fellow reincarnator. ──He can’t just ignore her.
「I’ll treat you to a meal, so let’s leave this place for now.」
Marie grasped the hand that I offered her.
「Ri, right.」
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Part 3
We got out of the academy and went to the city.
We entered a cheap restaurant. There Marie ate the ordered food ravenously.
She already devoured three portions of steak and yet she still ordered even more additional food.
Right now she was chewing at meat still attached on bone.
The way she ate was like a hungry beast.
「Eat slower. No one will take it away from you.」
It felt like I’m full already just from watching her.
Luxion floated beside me while observing Marie. He was greatly interested.
『Master is also very curious, but this person is actually also very curious.』
Hearing that Marie is also a former Japanese, Luxion said 『So she is an old mankind』 and interacted with Marie friendlily.
『Marie, there is enough food. Can we continue our talk?』
What we were talking before the food came shed that Marie was a former Japanese woman.
She won’t tell us her age, but from the content of her story I think her age previously was around the middle of her thirty until her early forty.
It seems she was disowned by her parents and lived with a useless man as her boyfriend.
After that, she thought that she fainted because of her boyfriend’s violence but when she woke up she was in this world.
──Her story was too pitiful I can’t laugh at it.
It’s troubling because I can’t make fun of this kind of pitiful topic.
Marie washed down the food she put into her mouth with water and resumed talking after she came to her senses.
「Where did we left off again?」
「From where you reincarnated as the youngest daughter of Viscount House of Lafan.」
「Aa~, that’s right.」
Luxion placed a handkerchief in front of Marie because the area around her mouth is dirty.
Marie took it and wiped her mouth before continuing.
「The house I reincarnated into is a terrible house. It’s a viscount house that has territory in the main land, but right now its territory is small and it’s also really poor. In my family there is also only my parents who only has high pride and big brother and big sister who are scum.」
Marie looked down and said 「They’re completely different from my Onii-chan in the previous life」 with a small voice.
This girl, it seems she had a big brother in her previous life.
What a coincidence, I also had a little sister.
That’s why this girl made me excessively irritated──that I can’t leave her alone.
Could it be, she is my little sister? I considered such possibility but, it’s impossible so she must be someone else.
Both big brother and little sister reincarnating to another world together won’t be funny at all.
In the first place, can such thing happen? ──Feels like that the possibility is low.
「You targeted the prince because you wanted to get out of such life?」
I sympathized with her, but it’s no good to target the prince of all people right?
「──Because, I didn’t clear the first game, so I didn’t know about the detail.」
Marie looked like she is going to cry.
I also wanted to cry here. After all, I didn’t know that otome game had sequel.
I’m really glad that I was able to talk with Marie.
「Certainly the first game was difficult. I also cleared it using paid items. Even so, I still can’t believe that it had a sequel made.」
「Right!? It was impossible to clear it normally. It can’t be helped even if I don’t know isn’t it?」
『Marie, the food you ordered came.』
The waiter brought a lot of food.
Marie immediately resumed eating.
When I’m looking at the way Marie ate, she started making excuse shamefully.
「I, it has been a long time since I can eat a lot. I couldn’t eat until I’m full in my home. There was even some days where there was only tasteless soup to eat.」
Just what in the world this girl’s family is doing?
「That’s horrible.」
「You better realize just how blessed your life is.」
「I’m feeling complicated.」
Am I who even almost got sold to an old hag still has it better──I don’t want to believe that.
But, it’s a fact that I’m more blessed than Marie in the family department.
Putting aside Zola, I think that father and mother are good parents.
My big brother Nix can be relied on, and Collin is a cute little brother.
「You won’t be troubled with food when you’re in the academy though.」
「I, I’m hungry! Since I reincarnated here my stomach always felt overly hungry, and for some reason my growth is also slow──」
Luxion who observed Marie seemed to understand the cause.
『From Marie’s story, I assume that her excessive training in healing magic might be the cause? Originally it shouldn’t be strange for her to physically grow more.』
「Is that so?」
I asked Luxion to speak in more detail.
『Yes. This is the result of her forcing herself too much during her growth period. Her physical growth stopped, but she obtained the skill that allows her to become a specialist in healing magic. She must have forced herself so much. How about master following her example for a little?』
Is he telling me to work harder?
「I want to live my life efficiently. It’s my principle to not do pointless effort.」
『As expected from master. How about you boil the dirt of Marie’s nail and drink it?』
「I refuse.」
When I refused firmly, Marie looked exasperated.
She dropped the knife and fork in her hands.
「O, oi, what’s wrong?」
Marie trembled──.
「Eh? ──Eh? Co, could it be, I’m looking like a child like this is because──」
『It’s the result of your effort. Perhaps you should feel proud? There isn’t any problem with your feminine functions, you simply won’t be able to grow further than this.』
In other words──Marie’s appearance would stay childish than her age suggest like this. It seems that she can’t expect anything more from her growth in the future.
After that, Marie is crying while eating like crazy to drown her sorrow.
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Part 4
「I can’t just keep crying!」
The next day.
Marie came talking to me in the academy’s corridor. She said she wanted to talk about the plan going on ahead and I brought her to a place with nobody around.
And then she declared──.
「I’ll target the conquest targets that the main character aren’t targeting! It’s the leftover plan!」
Main character──when I investigated her, it seems her name is Olivia. Marie proclaimed a hyena-like plan of approaching the boys who that main character doesn’t target.
「You don’t know when to give up huh.」
「Obviously. I don’t want the world to be destroyed. But, this and that are different matter. That’s why, you help me too.」
Marie pressed her hands together and asked me for help. I turned a smile at her.
「My bad but it’s impossible. I’m busy searching for marriage partner.」
「What, you cheapskate! You can put off something like marriage hunting for later!」
「Shut up! It’s a life and death problem for a man, idiot!」
Luxion watched the surrounding vigilantly while saying something like 『You two are getting along well』.
I told Marie just how painful the boys’ standing is.
「Now listen, a young man who hasn’t married until twenty years old will have even his personality seen in doubt. It will affect their life from there on. We are different from girls who will have boys flocking toward them even without doing anything.」
Marie objected.
「Haa? Even the boys will only call out to girls that they targeted. Someone like me still haven’t got invited to any tea party just so you know.」
「That’s because the tea party will be from the fifth month. No one will call out to the girls right after enrolling to the academy.」
「Are you an idiot? The first years are going to do tea party from the fifth month, but that’s unrelated with the seniors. I’m saying that no second year or third year is calling out to me.」
I’m getting irritated talking with this girl.
Marie spoke her dissatisfaction toward the boys.
「In the end you boys are only looking at girls who are convenient for you. Even though upper years are calling out to the girls around me, everyone will look away just from me saying that I came from Lafan House.」
Marie looked down.
But, that can’t be helped.
「Because, your house’s reputation is really bad.」
When I investigated her house is very horrible. It’s a house that made me hesitate associating with her from now on.
Marie wiped her tears.
「This is unreasonable.」
In the first place, obviously anyone will hesitate if the house of the girl they will marry has a lot of debt.
I can imagine them asking for money to anyone who want to marry their daughter.
It’s troubling even if they ask for a lot of money to a baron house at the frontier.
Because they won’t have that much money.
But, it will also be troubling if I ignored Marie like this and she caused some kind of trouble.
「I got it so stop crying. I’ll help you out.」
「Really!?」
Seeing Marie stopped crying and became all smile──she really reminded me of my little sister.
At the very least, I hope that girl was happier than Marie.
A part of me can’t forgive her but, I won’t be able to laugh if she met an experience as terrible as Marie.
「And, who are you targeting?」
「First is~」
Marie talked happily about her plan.
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Part 5
In the training field with logs lined up.
There a blue haired young man, Chris Fia Arclight is training hard.
He looked intellectual with the glasses he is wearing, but actually he is the son of a swordsman who is called as sword saint in Hohlfahrt Kingdom.
This person himself has obtained the title of master fencer at his age.
Marie is talking to that Chris.
I’m observing them from behind a cover but──.
「──I’m sorry but I’m not interested.」
「Eh? ──Err?」
I was impressed because she pulled off a nice greeting at him but──Chris isn’t interested to Marie.
Chris wiped his sweat while sending Marie a doubting gaze.
「I don’t know what you are thinking to approach me like this but, I already have a fiancée. It will be dishonest of me to get too close with other female student. Please don’t talk too much with me from now.」
Marie is dejected after being warned with that sound argument.
「Ye, yes.」
Chris started swinging his wooden sword after the talk is finished.
「Go back if that’s all. I can’t concentrate.」
His attitude is curt and blunt.
Come to think of it, this guy’s cold attitude was standing out.
Marie returned back to me and,
「──I failed.」
She is dejected.
It can’t be helped. Arter all──.
「It’s the fourth successive failure with this.」
──Not only this is the last one, it’s game over already.
She called out to the conquest targets──the boys other than the prince, but she splendidly failed all of them.
「Isn’t it horrible that everyone is so cold!?」
Not everything can go well like in game.
I turned my gaze to Luxion.
「Oi, Olivia-san is really intimate with the prince right?」
『They are intimate. From the information of master and Marie, I’m presuming that she is targeting Julius.』
And yet, the other conquest targets won’t even look at Marie.
Reality is harsh.
I talked to the dejected Marie.
「Cheer up. I’ll treat you.」
Hearing that, Marie wiped her drool while retorting to me.
「Do, don’t make fun of me. Do you think I’ll easily get into a good mood just from getting food?」
「I get it so wipe your drool.」
While I’m hiding from Chris and talking to Marie──Olivia-san came to the training field.
She is a girl with an unsophisticated feel. And then she waved her hand to Chris.
Chris is normally cold but──he is showing a smiling face only to Olivia-san.
Even though he didn’t show any smile at Marie, what’s with this difference in attitude?
But, I also understand Chris’s feeling.
Olivia-san who is bright, energetic, and also big breasted is a charming girl.
Even I will surely become all smile if she called out to me.
──Compared to that.
「Oi, which part you are comparing me with that woman?」
Marie is giving me a really cold gaze, so I averted my eyes.
「Now then──let’s go have some meal.」
「You looked at my chest and compared it to that woman right!? Say it clearly!」
「Sometimes the truth can hurt. It’s impossible for someone kind like me to say the fact.」
「That’s the same like you saying it! Damn it! Is it breast as expected!? Men are all stupid idiot!」
In reality shape or roundness is more important than size but, let’s not say it out loud.
After all Marie’s flat chest doesn’t have any relation with shape or roundness.
「Aa~, I’m annoyed. Today I’ll eat ten portions of steak!」
Luxion joined the talk.
『You ate twelve portions before this though? Marie, certainly you won’t grow but, fat will still attach in your body. Especially not in the chest or butt──but around the stomach or arms.』
Marie turned quiet hearing that.
「──I, I’ll stop in six portions.」
This girl is a good-for-nothing as expected.
It’s impossible for the conquest targets to get cajoled by this kind of woman.
I’m really worried.
It won’t be a problem even if I ignored her but, I can’t do that at this point.
「Come on, let’s go.」
「Wa, wait for me!」
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Part 6
Now then, the new students are going to call out to the girls for real from the fifth month.
Why is it from the fifth month?
I don’t know the reason, and I don’t even want to know.
But──.
「I’m reborn.」
──I was made to realize that tea is a wonderful culture.
My friends Daniel and Raymond are looking at me with cold gazes but I paid them no mind.
「You are looking really happy huh.」
「As I thought a capable guy is different.」
I can feel jealousy from the two’s gazes and tones clearly.
I wonder why?
「What’s wrong? You two are looking really annoyed today.」
On the bench at the academy’s courtyard.
The three of us are sitting and talking, but I felt a distance from the two.
Raymond’s glasses glinted suspiciously while looking at me.
「I heard the rumor. It seems that you have gotten really close with a girl in upper level who isn’t even bringing around any exclusive servant.」
Daniel clenched his hand,
「I’m jealous you bastard! Please introduce her to us too!」
They are irritated at me, but they are trying to use me so I introduced them to a girl.
I don’t hate you guys who are like that but──but you guys are wrong.
「You mean Marie? My relationship with that girl isn’t like that.」
Raymond looked doubting.
「I wonder. Besides, I’m envious just from you simply having a girl as close acquaintance.」
Daniel casted down his gaze.
「I also want to get close to a girl who doesn’t have exclusive servant.」
A girl in upper level who doesn’t have exclusive servant──is a special girl.
Because in general girls in upper level has exclusive servant.
That girl is either poor like Marie──or,
「Ah, it’s his highness.」
Raymond muttered. There at the courtyard the prince──his highness Julius came with his step sibling Jilk in tow.
Behind them there are female students following the two of them.
His highness Julius and Jilk who are basking in their shrill voices doesn’t look interested toward those girls.
「What an envious bunch.」
When I said that, both Raymond and Daniel looked at me and clicked their tongues.
You guys, treasure your friend more!
While I‘m thinking that──.
「Ah, it’s the scholarship student.」
When Daniel said that, his highness Julius and others are in some kind of quarrel.
His highness Julius’s fiancée, Angelica Rafa Redgrave is also there.
「Your highness, please think of your station!」
His highness Julius is treating Angelica-san in annoyance.
「Angelica, we are in the academy. Stop bringing in status at the outside to here.」
「Bu, but!」
He is defending the scholarship student Olivia-san in front of his fiancée.
His highness met Olivia-san and invited her to the tea party at the fifth month. It was then Angelica-san came.
In the game this is an event in the early stage, but seeing it like this, it looks like a scene of carnage to me.
「It’s nice being handsome. They are forgiven even if they get intimate with other girl in front of their fiancée.」
When I said that, Daniel quickly shook his head.
「No no, that’s no good. Besides, the girl is the scholarship student──a commoner.」
Raymond also agreed.
「It’s possible even for commoner to be accepted as concubine isn’t it? There is precedent for that.」
「Is that so?」
There is Cinderella story of a commoner woman being accepted into the palace.
But, acting like this in front of his fiancée──it’s problematic.
Looking at it like this, the main character of that otome game is unexpectedly a bad woman.
The group broke up while we are watching quietly.
「Yosh, let’s get going too──oi, what’s with you two?」
Daniel and Raymond grabbed me when I’m about to return to the school building.
「We’re in the middle of talking!」
「How about you tell us in detail about your relationship with that girl called Marie. We want to hear it as comrades in the same group.」
The comrades in the group of poor baron.
Looks like it will be troublesome if I don’t dispel the misunderstanding.
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Part 7
──And, because of that I consulted Marie.
But that Marie is being seriously despondent right now.
「──No one invited me to the tea party in the fifth month.」
Not only the group of five of the prince and others, all the boys who held tea party in the fifth month ignored her. Marie is sitting while hugging her knees.
『In Marie’s case, perhaps the boys hesitated because her house is too horrible?』
Marie stood up and held her head hearing Luxion’s calm reply.
「I’m tired hearing that kind of correct answer! They should evaluate my personal character more!」
「Don’t be unreasonable.」
Marriage between nobles is political marriage no matter how you cut it.
For example, there are many stories of people who love each other are unable to marry because of their houses’ circumstances.
Like difference in status, or the difference in faction between the two houses, and many other reasons.
「Why! That otome game’s world should be a world that is kind to girl!」
「It’s hard mode for the men though.」
It seems that Marie is also in hard mode.
I’m getting sad watching her.
「More importantly, I explained my relationship between you and me to my friends. They’re getting noisy asking me to request you and introduce them to girls.」
「You, be kinder to me! ──Or rather, how about you introduce them to girls?」
「But I don’t have any girl acquaintance.」
「What do you mean by that huuh!」
「Ouch!」
『You two looks like you are having fun.』
Marie kicked my shin. It really hurt.
Or rather, this girl has a power that can’t be imagined from her small body.
I waited for the agitated Marie to calm down before we resumed talking.
「No, that’s why──I don’t have any acquaintance who seem like they will be able to introduce girls. Jena──my big sis has bad personality, so surely her friends also has bad personality.」
If I asked her to introduce girls, I can imagine her saying 「We have no time for poor nobles from countryside」.
Even though she herself is also that countryside poor noble.
「Then, I can introduce them to girls.」
「Eh, you can do that!?」
When I looked shocked, Marie looked at me and said 「You’re looking down on me too much」 angrily.
.
Part 8
I came to the bar that is often used by the poor baron group.
Marie brought the girls who she will introduce. The atmosphere inside the bar is different from usual.
The seniors and students from the same grade──everyone is smiling at me.
「Leon-kun, I believed in you.」
「Leon, you are the best friend one can ask for.」
「Talk to me if you need anything. I’ll do everything I can if it’s for your sake!」
I let out a strange chuckle seeing the guys who were glaring at me until several days ago when we passed each other changing their attitude so easily like flipping a hand.
Inside the bar there are three girls other than Marie.
One girl is fiddling with her hair, and another girl is looking nervous.
The last girl has unkempt hair and her clothes are also a bit messy.
There are painting tools attached on her uniform.
I approached Marie and asked her.
「Oi, where did you find those girls?」
We were also gathering information but, we never catch sight of these girls.
Marie is eating meat while teaching me about the girls.
「They are the shut-in girls.」
「Shut-in!?」
「The girl fiddling with her hair is a lazy child. The nervous girl is not good with place that has a lot of people, so she is studying alone in the dorm. The last one is something of an artist──she doesn’t really has much interest in anything else.」
The three of them are problem children.
But, Raymond’s glasses glinted hearing that explanation.
「Marie-san, can I ask the reason why the three of them has no exclusive servant?」
Marie drank her juice to wash down the food in her mouth into her stomach while answering.
「They aren’t interested. It seems the nervous girl is scared toward demi-human. It seems the three of them don’t want to get out of house after marrying. It doesn’t matter whether it’s at the countryside or the capital, I think they will marry you if you can provide them with an environment where they can be shut-in.」
The girl who is fiddling with her hair doesn’t want to work so it’ll be indispensable to give her servant.
The nervous girl wanted books so her condition is to let her buy books periodically.
The artist girl’s condition is to let her paint.
──What’s with that favorable condition?
Daniel stood up.
「──I’ll go into offense seriously.」
「Wait, Daniel! I’m first!」
Seeing the two starting to quarrel, I shook my head in exasperation.
「How ugly to quarrel like that. Then, I’ll──」
While I’m thinking of who to speak to among the three──Marie glared at me.
「What?」
「Nothing.」
Marie turned away and resumed eating again. While I’m looking at her in confusion──Daniel and Raymond looked at me with appalled look.
「Leon, that’s not right.」
「Yeah. You’re the worst.」
I can’t believe their reaction.
「What’s with you guys!」
In the end that day a conflict revolving around the three girls erupted within the group.
That was just how great the three girls’ conditions are.
If it is the previous life──the previous world, the three of them might be problem children but, in this world they are too much of an excellent product that it made you wanted to doubt whether it might be actually a trap.
──I also wanted to aim at them.
.
Part 9
The tea party in the fifth month.
「In the end it’s only you who came to my tea party huh.」
Marie’s eyes sparkled in front of the prepared tea and snacks.
She looked like she is going to drool even now.
「It’s alright. It’s better than not having anyone coming at all. More importantly, this is the sweets from a famous shop right? I wanted to try eating it just once~」
Holding a tea party inside a room that you borrowed and invited girls. That’s the tea party of the fifth month.
It’s the common sense of this academy for boys to entertain girls like this.
Luxion floated inside the room and looked toward me and Marie alternately.
『Master, it’s good that the sweets and tea you prepared doesn’t go to waste isn’t it?』
「Really. Everyone got heated up saying I’m going to the tea party of prince and the others~. They are really a bother to the other boys. Are the prince and the others really that great?」
I heard that Daniel and Raymond also have it hard.
Boys with popularity numbered five. They said that the venues where they held their tea party are spacious and wonderful.
The girls who are invited there are also many, because of that the number of boys who got rejected when inviting girls to tea party is a lot.
──Honestly, it’s also troubling for us to get compared with the prince and the other conquest targets.
Marie looked at me.
「What?」
「──You, aren’t you embarrassed comparing yourself with those five?」
「I, it’s none of your business. You yourself, you also aimed to have reverse harem with those five.」
Marie held her cup with both hands and sipped the tea bit by bit.
「Aa~, that. Thinking back now, I’m glad I didn’t do that.」
「So you finally gave up.」
Aiming for reverse harem is unfaithful no matter how you looked at it.
Marie placed down her cup and started eating a cake.
「The conquest targets are even more lacking in charm than I thought. They are only acting soft toward Olivia, and they are a bit stupid.」
Luxion agreed with that evaluation.
『Even though they also have fiancée, they are often together with the main character Olivia. They also have their status to think of. ──I can’t comprehend them.』
「Luxion, you don’t get it at all. What Marie wanted to say is she can’t forgive those five for choosing Olivia rather than her. Those things about charm and whatever are just excuse.」
Good look, good finance, great authority──those guys have everything.
Marie pouted while objecting.
「Even personality is an important factor. What I want to say is that those five are failure in that respect.」
「Is that so? Their reputation is quite good though.」
Their surrounding might only flattering them but, I haven’t heard any bad rumor about them.
「Or rather, thinking carefully it’ll be impossible to go out with them. Did you hear? The venue of Brad’s tea party reserved a garden in the capital.」
「Aa~, in the game it was also like that.」
「That sounds plausible if it’s in the game, but doing that in the real life is just no good isn’t it? Just how much money he is using for only a tea party I wonder.」
When it came to a topic of money, I can feel that this girl also commoner like me.
But──.
「By the way, the snacks and tea that you are eating right now──they will fetch a really high price if they are totaled.」
The sweets in this world are really expensive.
Even the sweets I prepared are something I especially ordered from a patisserie chef. So the price is really high.
Marie’s eyes opened wide hearing that.
「Tha, that much!?」
「It takes money to order special sweets from a chef of famous shop.」
Marie muttered 「How many underwear and socks I’ll be able to buy with that much money」 with a serious face.
『Do you have problem with your underwear and socks?』
「──My, my growth stopped, so all this time I’m using hand-me-down──that’s──even if there is hole in my socks I can’t buy a new one.」
Marie looked embarrassed, but I’m pitying her even more than that it felt like I’m going to cry.
「Yo, you──said that from the beginning!」
「There’s no way I can say something so embarrassing easily!」
This girl too must be desperate to get out of her harsh life.
「Do you understand my feeling when my family told me there is no need to buy new clothes because I’m not growingggg!」
I calmed down the agitated Marie.
「I, I get it so calm down. Let’s go out to the city and shop after this. A, anyway, let’s quickly buy the necessary items.」
「I don’t have any money. Soon it will be the adventure part──that’s not it. We will be able to enter the dungeon soon, so I’m planning to earn money there. That’s why, I’ll bear with this for now.」
Luxion honestly evaluated Marie highly.
This guy, isn’t he spoiling Marie?
『Earning money yourself if you don’t have money. What a wonderful mentality. It’s also admirable how you don’t simply run toward doing crime.』
「Eh? Is that so? This girl is a woman who aimed to get reverse harem in order to get out of poverty you know?」
『──It’ll be better if master learn from Marie more.』
Is he telling me to aim for reverse harem?
It should be harem for a man──but a harem in this world──there is no such thing huh.
I’ll rather be a bachelor rather than providing for women like big sis.
Although, the demerit of being a bachelor is too many that I can’t choose it. It’s frustrating.
Marie muttered with a dark expression──.
「I need to work hard to be able to buy the necessary items at the very least. ──When I become able to enter dungeon, I’ll earn money every day in the dungeon. I need money to become independent.」
──This girl, it looked like she is seriously planning to challenge the dungeon every day.
「I’ll buy you the necessary items at least, so stop with the stupid plan like entering dungeon every day.」
When I said that I’ll buy them for her, Marie clasped her hands and made a smile.
She pressed her arm to her sides and took a sly pose.
「You will!?」
「A girl at your age wearing socks with holes in it is just too pitiful. I’ll pay that much money at least.」
Luxion looked at me and,
『Oh, is master hiding your embarrassment? Won’t it be fine to honestly say that you pity Marie?』
「──Shut up.」
Thanks to one of her anxiety vanishing, Marie continued enjoying her tea and sweets with a smile.
.
Part 10
Now then, after that──there isn’t any big event occurring for a mob like me.
I normally went through my academy life and normally challenged the dungeon to earn money for the tea party expenses──such days were continuing and before I noticed the first term is about to end.
When I noticed, there is only Marie showing up even when I held a tea party.
Other than her there is only the second daughter Jena who sometimes will come to make fun of me.
──Like today.
「Foolish little brother, are you seriously going to marry Marie?」
「Haa?」
Jena talked without any interest toward me who is preparing second serving of tea.
「You invited that girl to your tea party every time right? Though it seems she isn’t here today.」
「Today she is going to the city to get her dress. That girl don’t has any dress, so she was worrying what to do for the party before the long vacation.」
「That girl is really poor isn’t she? ──Even if there is no problem with that girl herself, that girl’s house is a trouble.」
I don’t understand the true intention of Jena who is saying that while eating sweets.
It’s like she is giving me a warning.
「I don’t have romantic relationship with that girl. ──We are friends, or perhaps just two people with troublesome tie you can’t cut off?」
We both are fellow reincarnator.
We can understand each other better than anyone else in this world.
My Japanese sensitivity from the previous world doesn’t really work in this world after all.
Jena is looking at me with a doubting gaze.
「Well, it’s you who will have it hard, so I’m not going to stop you.」
「What’s with you today? More importantly, big sis yourself, have you managed to land a marriage with someone?」
「Unlike you I have a lot of choices. Even now I’m receiving advances from several people.」
Jena’s personality became worse due to the capital’s influence, even so there are still boys approaching her.
Her look──isn’t that bad.
Our house also has no more debt and in the middle of developing thanks to my investment.
She is from a baron house in countryside, so she is also not involved with any bad faction. From those it seems she is an excellent article.
For this kind of horrible woman to be an excellent article, this world is really terrible.
Even so──Marie’s house is a problem huh.
When she earned money, her family seemed to catch wind of it and made a debt using Marie’s name.
The culprit was Marie’s actual big sister so it’s not funny at all.
.
Part 11
The party before the long vacation is separated by the academic year.
The party that is held in a wide venue is really extravagant.
It’s a buffet party and the foods that are lined up are cooked by first class chefs.
Live music is filling the inside of the venue. I have no memory of attending a party of this level even in my previous life.
「Another world is really amazing.」
「Rhight!」
I looked at Marie who is stuffing her mouth full of foods.
She is eating food enjoyably in her dress that she just bought.
As for her dress, it’s the cute type if I have to say what kind of dress it is.
There is also Marie’s atmosphere to consider but, she looked childish no matter how you see it.
She looked like a little girl wearing dress to act like an adult, making a really warming sight.
Setting that aside,
「──Why am I alone with just you?」
Both Daniel and Raymond are with the girls that Marie introduced to them so they aren’t here.
Originally I wanted to go around together with them to talk to girls and yet──what heartless friends they are.
They are trying to find partner quickly to escape from the harsh marriage hunting race by themselves.
──That’s unforgivable.
When I’m thinking to get in their way, Marie loaded a mountain of food on her plate while moving her gaze.
When I followed her gaze, over there is his highness Julius──and Olivia-san.
Olivia-san who is wearing uniform is also surrounded by boys other than his highness Julius.
「Do you still have lingering attachment?」
While I’m wondering if she still hasn’t given up yet, Marie shook her head.
「Stupid. The world where we live is too different~, I’m just thinking that. I understood a lot of things in this term. I and those five──won’t be able to see eye to eye.」
Even luxury that is shocking for Marie is normal or modest from those five’s perspective.
It seems she is also feeling jealous but, she is also accepting that it’s fine like this.
「It helps that you understand. With this there is no one getting in Olivia-san’s way.」
If the main character Olivia-san become a couple with someone among those five──the world will also be saved.
A great uncertain factor will disappear with that.
The two of us are watching the party of the nobles from near the party venue’s wall.
It’s really a different world.
It’s not about other world or anything like that──the world we are living in feels different from them.
「──Ah」
Marie let out her voice. There Angelica-san is talking to his highness Julius.
She is glaring at Olivia-san and trying to separate them.
His highness Julius got angry from that.
Seeing that Marie is──.
「Hey, thinking carefully, isn’t it wrong to be all over other woman in front of your fiancée? Even without thinking carefully, it’s no good to get close to a man who has fiancée.」
「How about you look at mirror? But, I agree with that opinion.」
It’s the scenario of that otome game so it can’t be helped.
Thinking of it like that, then that’s that but──it’s certainly a horrible story.
「Does she love a man who abandoned his fiancée to choose her? I don’t get woman.」
It looks like I can’t understand woman’s feeling.
Marie talked about this situation from the perspective of woman.
「But, to abandon his fiancée like that when he met someone that he love──putting it another way, it’s like he is proclaiming that he will abandon that girl too if he meet a more charming woman. I’ll be put off if it’s me.」
「That should be a situation a woman will yearn for shouldn’t it?」
「Yearning and reality are different. It’s only a misunderstanding that came from the heat of the moment. But when you cooled down, you will think ‘no way~’ about it.」
Certainly, that kind of situation happening in reality will make you tilt your head.
The people themselves might be getting heated up saying ‘It’s forbidden love!’, but the surrounding will be cooling down watching it.
But, hearing that from Marie made it sounded like a gag.
「Those are words that I wish a certain someone who was planning for reverse harem can hear.」
Marie is hitting me repeatedly when I laughed at her.
「What’s with that! Say it if you’ve complaint!」
「Not really. I’m also agreeing with your opinion.」
Then──the venue got strangely quiet.
When I looked around, I saw gazes gathering on us.
Luxion who is hiding nearby explained the situation.
『Since some time ago everyone in this place is listening attentively to the argument of Julius and Angelica. There is also the timing of the change of music where the place became quiet at the same time when the conversation of the two of you was heating up.』
──So our talk got heard by the surrounding.
I and Marie broke into cold sweat.
「Wha, what now?」
Asked by Marie, I──took Marie’s hand and escaped from the venue.
「Pa, pardon us!」
「Pardon us!」
We escaped from the venue together and after that the live music resumed playing.
──Too late! Read the atmosphere more you guys!
「What have you done huh! We became conspicuous just now!」
「Don’t make it sounds like my fault! More importantly, I can’t eat all the types of food now!」
So you’re prioritizing your hunger rather than sex appeal huh──this girl is really a good-for-nothing reincarnator.
The area is dark when we got outside.
Luxion’s single eye shined and illuminated the surrounding.
Marie turned back toward the venue and──.
「I wanted to have more fun.」
She casted her gaze down in dejection.
A bit of guilt welled up inside me.
After all this girl was enjoying the party in her own way.
「There will be a lot of chance to go to party as long as you are in the academy so don’t worry.」
「The parties that I can come to are only the parties that I can join while I’m in the academy.」
When the party before the end-of-term ceremony is over, a long vacation will be waiting.
「──More importantly, what is your plan for the summer vacation? Will you return home?」
When I asked her that, the answer she gave me is horrible.
「I was told with a letter to stay in the academy and earn money. The letter also told me to send money home. The letter came from the whole family.」
It’s too horrible I can’t even say anything.
The silence continued for a while, then I can’t endure anymore and invited Marie.
「It’s not the capital but, want to come to my home?」
「Your home?」
「I plan to return to my own territory during the long vacation. Over there──it has hot spring.」
「Hot spring!」
Marie suddenly turned happy. I felt a bit relieved seeing that.
「Not just that! ──There is also rice.」
「RICEEEE!」
Marie rejoiced and ran around on that spot.
For us reincarnator, it’s really difficult to be able to eat the staple food from our previous world.
She is really happy that it became possible to eat that food.
「What about miso!? Shoyu!?」
「No, those are still impossible.」
Hearing that Marie said 「Ee~」 in disappointment. Luxion are complaining beside me seeing Marie like that.
『I’ll be able to prepare them immediately if only master isn’t fixated with the natural product though.』
That kind of thing is the same but different in nutrient or taste.
This guy can prepare that, but I’m a member of natural faction.
「I want to eat the natural product」「I like the natural product better」
We looked at each other’s face hearing that our opinion overlapped.
It felt a bit embarrassing that both of us averted our face.
Luxion said 『Is that so. Then please wait one more year』.
This guy is amazing.
It seems he will be able to prepare miso and shoyu in just one more year.
──Can’t he make it faster?
Marie is getting into high spirit looking forward to the long vacation──and fell down.
「Oy, are you okay?」
「──It has been a long time since I’m wearing high heel, so my feet hurt.」
This is because she forced herself and bought something like high heel.
Marie used healing magic to her own ankle. Seeing that I recalled the past.
Once my little sister from the previous life said that her feet hurt and cried. She wouldn’t move then.
I left her and went home, but I got worried after a while and returned.
──That girl, she got tired and fell asleep.
Recalling that, I turned my back toward Marie who finished the healing and crouched down.
「Come on, I’ll send you back so hop on.」
「Aren’t you considerate. Take me till the girl dormitory then please.」
How far you are going to act similar like my little sister?
Say thank you first.
.
Part 12
Marie recalled the past on Leon’s back.
Luxion was illuminating the dark path inside the academy.
(I’m recalling the past. Come to think of it──big bro also carried me on his back like this.)
She recalled that annoying big brother.
Since he died because of her fault, she was regretting it all the time.
She recalled what happened in the previous world and strongly hugged Leon’s back.
「Oi, that hurt.」
Leon complained, but seeing how similar he was with her big brother she was irritated──and happy.
「Don’t complain and walk quicker.」
Tears came out. She got embarrassed and buried her face on Leon’s back.
(In the end, I was hopeless all the time without big bro there.)
Her life went off the rail since her big brother died.
He got bad mouth and his personality──was also bad, but at heart he was a kind big brother.
That big brother and Leon overlapped with each other.
But, Marie thought.
(I wonder if big bro also reincarnate? ──I hope he is happy if that’s the case.)
She recalled her big brother who died young and lifted up her face to look at the sky. There the moon was pretty.
「Hey, what kind of place your home is?」
「It’s a countryside. The place is quite and slow but, I like it.」
「You, I get the feeling that place like the capital isn’t your favorite.」
「That’s because I don’t like how messy it is. I don’t want to get busy and work.」
「Uwa, that’s the line of hopeless person.」
(Big bro also said something like that before.)
Marie thought back of everything until now on Leon’s back.
(Those times I talked to those four, I also wasn’t really fired up. I’m not suitable with the prince and those four.)
She tried to aim at the four other than Julius together with Leon, but she didn’t feel any feeling of ‘this is it’ from them.
Now she understood the reason for that.
(──Aa~, my interest in man is really bad. To think that I’ll like someone who is like big bro, what a shocking truth for my second life.)
Marie thought such thing while making stupid talk with Leon.
.
Part 13
The end-of-term ceremony ended safely and the day to return home arrived.
Father came to pick me up at the port.
I’m waiting for Marie who doesn’t arrive in time.
「That girl, she is late.」
Both Nix and Jena has already headed to the port.
Luxion is considering the reason of Marie’s lateness.
『──Perhaps her preparation is taking time?』
「Woman is taking a lot of time for this kind of thing after all.」
『Or perhaps, she overslept.』
「That’s possible.」
──But, my chest is feeling uneasy since this morning.
I can’t calm down no matter what.
『Master, should we go pick her up?』
「Yeah. But, I can’t enter the girl’s dormitory.」
While we are making such talk, some girls wearing uniform passed in front of us.
But, their talk made me curious.
「That felt good.」
「It was because she was impudent. That felt refreshing.」
「It’s her fault to stand out like that in the party.」
The mean looking trio of girls are followed by exclusive servants.
I got a bad premonition hearing their talk.
「Party? Refreshing? ──Luxion, search for Marie.」
I started running. Luxion headed toward the girl’s dormitory ahead of me.
──Don’t tell me, something happened to that girl?
.
Part 14
Marie whose hair was still messy from sleeping was running while carrying a traveling bag.
「I OVERSLEPTTT!」
She was nervous yesterday and couldn’t sleep well.
She thought about meeting Leon’s family, and she was also worried that her family would try something.
──Besides, she was feeling a bad premonition.
Thanks to that she slept really late yesterday.
And then, when she woke up there wasn’t long until the meeting time.
「Hau!」
Marie prepared in a great hurry and rushed out of her room, but she collided with a female student when turning around the corner.
Marie fell but she immediately got up.
「Ouch ouch──ah, are you alright!? I’m sorry. I was in a hurry so──eh?」
When she offered her hand toward the girl she collided with, Marie got really scared seeing that girl’s eyes.
The female student with the dark gaze was──Olivia.
Olivia stood up like nothing had happened and walked away while ignoring Marie.
Marie realized that she was breaking in cold sweat.
「Wha, what. What was that?」
──It was really scary.
Her image of Olivia was someone who was always smiling cheerfully, but just now she was expressionless with cloudy eyes.
It made Marie scared.
(What? She looks like she is hating everything──I have seen several girls making that kind of eyes but, did something happen?)
She considered chasing after Olivia, but her legs wouldn’t move.
Her heart was beating loudly in her chest.
Then──.
『Oh, it seems you really overslept.』
「Fuwah! I, it’s you Luxion. Don’t surprise me like that.」
The uneasy Marie wiped her sweat and picked up her traveling bag.
『Master is worried. He thought that perhaps something happened.』
「I, I’m sorry. I couldn’t sleep well yesterday and when I woke up the time was──」
While she was making excuse, Luxion moved his single eye in a nodding gesture.
『It’s fine if there is no problem. Then, let us depart.』
「Ri, right.」
Marie who recalled what just happened was really concerned about Olivia.
But, thinking whether it was alright for her to call out to her when they weren’t close at all, and with how Leon and his family were waiting for her──she didn’t go after Olivia.
.
Part 15
「Are you a kid, oversleeping like that!」
「I, I’m sorry.」
I’m seriously relieved hearing that the reason Marie was late because she overslept.
I got a bad premonition, but in the first place my instinct isn’t that accurate.
I’m glad my instinct was wrong.
Both of us hurried toward the port into the docking place for airships.
I talked with Marie while walking.
「Has the ship departed?」
It seems she is worried whether father’s ship has departed or not.
「It’s a private ship so it can be flexible. Though the port will complain at us.」
『It’s fine even if we are left behind. My Partner can send the two of you there.』
「Partner will stand out. You made it too big.」
『It was because of master’s instruction. It wasn’t my fault.』
「Is that so? Yeah it is huh.」
I also made small talk with Luxion, but the strange bad premonition in my chest hasn’t calmed down since some time ago.
「──Marie, did nothing really happen?」
I worriedly checked with Marie, but the person herself doesn’t understand what I’m talking about.
「What do you mean?」
「That’s why──no, as I thought forget it.」
「Wait! I got curious now so say it already!」
This girl will only laugh even if I told her I have this strange bad premonition.
I looked at Luxion.
「Luxion, did anything strange happen yesterday?」
『Does master think I’m grasping everything in this academy? I never received such order, so I’m not investigating anything.』
What an annoying guy.
Marie looked at Luxion and made a disappointed face.
「Even though I thought that an AI would be more amazing than this. Could it be, that you’re a slightly hopeless child?」
Marie’s words seem to lit fire under Luxion. He retorted back.
『I can’t pretend to ignore that. The cause is because master didn’t order me to collect information due to his disinterest with the matter of the academy. How can you expect result from me even though I wasn’t even ordered for anything like that? In the first place, I’m not someone with nothing to do. My main body is working hard even now to build a workshop in master’s home. Not doing anything needless is also the proof of excellence──』
Marie ignored the passionately talking Luxion and showed interest toward the topic of workshop.
「You have a workshop!? Eh, could it be you’re rich!?」
「That’s still in the future. It’ll be better to have a lot of source of income after all.」
「How nice~」
Both I and Marie are losing interest at Luxion’s explanation.
Luxion said.
『──Both of you have similar personality. The way you two ignored my explanation is also exactly the same.』
「How are we similar!?」「Where are we similar!?」
My voice overlapped with Marie again.
It’s embarrassing──and funny.
We laughed together.
「First I want to eat rice when we arrived at Leon’s home. Also──rice cracker!」
「I’ll prepare that but, how should I say it, your taste is subdued.」
「It’s fine isn’t it. You can eat it as it is with its crispy texture, but it’s also tasty to eat it when it’s slightly damp.」
「That’s tasty but, there is something else than that.」
「Mochi?」
This girl, hoping for rice cracker or mochi──.
No, I understand her feeling though.
My bad premonition calmed down and I’m getting relaxed.
It seemed the bad premonition was just my imagination.
While we’re getting heated up with our talk, a docking place for small airship came into view at the other side of the port.
It looks like the airship will depart from the dock with just a little bit more time.
「Oh, we come in a nice timing. Let’s get on it.」
「I’m taking the window seat!」
Marie broke into a run. Seeing her I thought of how energetic she is while thinking that she is similar with my little sister.
Do I have some kind of destiny with little sister character whether it’s in the previous life or in this life?
Suddenly something weighed my mind and I looked back.
There is this thing weighing my mind no matter what.
There was also the strange bad premonition this morning──I’m looking back wondering if it’s alright like this.
『Master, is something the matter?』
「──It’s nothing.」
Marie boarded the airship and waved her hand energetically at me.
「That girl is lively too today.」
It feels like I made some kind of mistake but──surely it’s just my imagination.