Once again, I had that dream.
I was in a strange, mysterious place of pure white.
The sky, the floor that looked like concrete—there was nothing else in this place.
No matter how much I walked, I saw no one, except in a certain part.
In the deepest part of the place, I find someone kneeling and crying.
They always repeat the same words over and over.
"I'm sorry!"
"Forgive me!"
"I regret it!"
"Why are you crying?"—I want to ask them that.
But when I try to approach, my head starts to hurt and my vision fades.
When I try to get closer, I notice a strange shadow covering the person.
"Wait!! Why are you crying? Who are you?"
In the end, I can't reach them and I wake up.
◇
My hand is raised, trying to reach something. I notice my breathing is heavy and sweat falls from my forehead into my hair.
After wiping myself, I see it's eleven in the morning.
"For a few weeks now, I've been having that strange dream. Ixion is useless with things like this."
It's been two days since the fall break started, but for some reason, the academy still won't let us leave.
Since I'm hungry, I'll go into the city for something to eat since the dormitory cafeteria is closed.
After leaving my room, I saw a chest—a masculine chest belonging to someone as tall as the door.
I was startled for a brief moment, but seeing his clothes—they're a servant's uniform.
He had a somewhat toned body, long blond hair tied over his shoulder like a lady's, green eyes, and it's very rare to see someone with dark skin around here.
When our eyes met, this guy gave me the impression of being annoyed.
"Good morning, Baron Bradford," the servant said politely with a clearly irritated tone.
"What's up, servant," I responded in the same way he did.
I didn't notice at first, but behind him were three other attractive servants like the guy in front of me.
The dark-skinned guy reminds me a lot of someone—who was it again?
"The academy asked students to stay a while longer because of this."
I was a bit surprised that he just started telling me that out of nowhere.
At the same time, he put his hand in his pocket.
I got scared thinking he was going to hit me. I was wrong because what he took out was an envelope.
I opened it. Inside was an invitation which, unlike the envelope, wasn't wrinkled. Clearly, this guy is annoyed with me, but not that much.
I read the contents, and the servant explained it to me as if I couldn't read.
"Due to your help capturing pirates in the surrounding areas, the Royal Palace and the academy paid for a cruise for the students. There will be three different random travel zones for all students. The cruise ships will arrive in three days."
What the servant said was the same, but politer and with lots of nice words.
(Looks like field trips in fantasy worlds are normal. Or, is it because there's more security now thanks to me that this is happening?)
I thanked the servant who came specifically to give me this. When I tried to leave, he didn't move.
"What's up?" I asked the servant who wasn't moving.
I really thought he wanted to hit me. So just in case, I used strengthening magic to withstand a blow.
It didn't happen, but something else more interesting did.
"You don't recognize me, do you?"
The servant asked that, and I cynically responded, "I've never seen you in my life."
The servant seemed to know I'd say that and made a gracious smirk.
Then after laughing, he looked at me and said...
"We only met once, but you're not someone easy to forget. After all, you made it so our master is no longer here."
I wanted to ask what the hell he was talking about when I remembered something.
In a funny way, opening my mouth and hitting my fist into my palm like a drum, I responded.
"Oh, now I remember! You're one of that dirty bastard Klein's lackeys! Sorry, sorry, but since that guy matters to me as much as a piece of shit, I couldn't remember him."
After laughing at that bastard, the servants got annoyed with me.
Apparently, their representative, the tanned blond, responded to me.
"I'm glad you remember our master that way. Thanks to you, we lost our master, so our salary now is just the basics since we work for the school."
Apparently, there are servants who work at the academy as something normal, while the rich young people bring exclusive servants from their homes.
The status difference is horrible.
"Thanks. What else can I do for you? Want me to hire you? No thanks, unless you're a beautiful girl, I wouldn't."
I responded with my true feelings, and he seemed to want to say something when someone came—a young servant with brown hair and scarlet eyes.
"Keyes-san!! They're calling you to the director's office. Someone wants to talk to you, so hurry up."
"Do you know who's calling me, Allen?"
"I don't know, but the director came out of there and told me to call you."
Apparently, the blond guy is named Keyes and the small one is Allen. For some reason, again, this kid seems familiar to me.
He noticed my gaze and gave me a nasty look.
I wanted to hit him for being rude, but an adult like me wouldn't do that.
They spoke among themselves again.
"We're going too. I hope we don't end up on the same cruise as that guy over there."
The little rude one specifically talked about me. Just for that, I'll grant your wish and find out which cruise you're on and change my trip.
After finishing talking, the blond guy ran off in the direction the wretched kid came from.
The other servants went to deliver more letters to other students.
While I continued on to the city to eat.
◇
I had to stay at the academy for two days while Ixion finished repairs on the Brynhild.
I arrived home a few hours ago, and of course, my family greeted me with blows after telling them what happened to me.
My parents and brothers yelled things like "Idiot! Do you want us to get killed because of you?" and "I don't want to die because of Rudel!" Obviously, Lyle was the one saying the most pathetic things.
They left the house to go to the town—I don't know why. So, I was left alone with my sweet little sister.
I wanted to see her angelic face to erase the memories of the false happiness I had with those girls. Instead, I was surprised because she was annoyed, puffing out her cheeks, looking at me angrily.
"Onii-chan, we need to talk."
My sweet little sister said that while, for some reason, I knelt before her.
I proceeded to tell her everything that happened, hoping she'd understand how I feel. The response was a hard blow for me.
"Onii-chan, what happened is partly your fault."
My sweet little sister shattered my heart. I immediately asked, "Why is it my fault?" I'm innocent; I didn't do anything wrong.
She kept looking at me angrily with her cheeks puffed out—it was still adorable.
"In town, I have a commoner friend named Jessica-chan. At first, I didn't know she was the daughter of the lord of these lands, and she distanced herself from me. It hurt, and I ran to her house to tell her I had a lot of fun playing with her. She wasn't there. When I was returning home, I found her coming from the same direction as our house. I ran crying to her, and she cried too. I told her I wanted to keep playing with her, and she also wanted to play with me."
"So, Onii-chan, it's partly your fault for not understanding their motives. They're your friends, right? Fighting with your friends is bad. If all three of you apologize, you'll surely go back to how you were before."
I was amazed at how a twelve-year-old girl could say such strong words.
To calm her, I lied. I'm sorry—it hurts to do this to you—but that won't happen.
"You're right. On this trip, I'll ask for their forgiveness."
"That's good ♡"
Her cute voice made it hurt more to lie to her. I remembered the main reason I came home.
"Pola, do you remember what I lent you a few months ago? I need it because I'm going to modify it to use it there."
After thinking for a moment, she remembered what I was talking about and ran off to get it.
While I watched her run to her room, I looked out the window at the land that I and those girls cultivated together. I can't destroy the land, but I really don't want to have anything to do with those girls or whatever they're doing right now.
◇◇◇
This happened months ago. The Bismarck house fleet was returning from supporting Rudel in his encounter with the Bluebeard pirates.
Alisa was in her father's office in the Royal Capital.
She told him what happened—with one exception.
Her father noticed she was acting strange and asked about her downcast face.
"Did something happen there or with Baron Rudel?"
Without changing her mood, Alisa responded, "Nothing's wrong, everything's normal. I'm just tired!"
Her father, Siegwald, listened to what she said and, in a calm tone, responded, "I understand. I have good news for you. It's been decided who your next fiancé will be."
When Alisa heard that, her downcast face lifted her gaze to her father.
He saw her and didn't change his expression.
"Why that surprised face? You're sixteen, the daughter of an Archduke. It's normal for you to be engaged."
Alisa heard that, and her expression wanted to show discomfort about it.
She understood and knew that. But her heart ached a few weeks ago because her previous fiancé was unfaithful to her, verbally abused her, and even threatened her to her face.
And now she had to get engaged to a man she probably didn't know.
Her father spoke while signing documents as if talking about something normal.
"It's the heir of County Arkwright… I think it would be more appropriate to say it will be a marquisate since his father will be promoted in a few months due to the discovery of a magic stone mine on one of the islands in his territory. He's also affiliated with our faction, so I consider him the best possible candidate to be your husband. His son is in a different class than yours, so I recommend you start establishing communication with him. That's all. You may return to the academy."
Siegwald finished speaking and kept signing documents until, after a second, he noticed Alisa hadn't left.
He looked at her and was about to say something.
"I'll take my leave immediately, Father. Goodbye."
Alisa bowed and left the office with her face looking at the floor.
Her father saw that and, after she left, said some words of discomfort.
"I'm sorry, for making you go through this again. That future Marquis has evaded taxes mysteriously for years, and I want to know if his son knows anything or not. Once again, I must use you, my daughter."
Then he continued signing documents dealing with the investigation of something related to the sale of metals and weapons by possibly corrupt nobles to the Talis Commonwealth.
◇◇◇
Alisa had already been back in class for a week. At the moment, she was in the library. Because Rudel and Airi yelled at her, she no longer hung out with them. More than anything, because a part of her thinks the daughter of an Archduke shouldn't feel bad, much less care about the opinions of lower-status people—that's what was in her head.
The library wasn't empty. There were students talking and making noise. Apparently, many of them talk about vandalism incidents, among other things related to Rudel.
Alisa only heard that, but she no longer exchanged words with Rudel, so she had no idea if it was true. A part of her thought it could be possible, considering a peasant doesn't care about his reputation.
"As I was telling you. In today's fencing practice, I surprised the instructor with a great thrust. All the boys were amazed at my skills, hahaha."
The person talking about his achievements was a boy in a white uniform—Alisa's new fiancé, Clovis von Arkwright, a young man of medium height, average build, violet hair with Z-shaped clips on one side, the long bangs reaching his nape with a long bangs combed to his left covering his cheek and part of one of his beige-colored eyes.
The boy already knew Alisa was going to be his fiancée, so he pathetically tried to show off his academic achievements.
Alisa was bored hearing him since he talked about nothing but himself.
A thought crossed her mind.
(Rudel talked about more interesting things even though they were also ridiculous.)
When she thought that, she immediately stood up and said to Clovis, "I'm sorry, Count Arkwright. I need to go to the restroom for a matter."
She then blushed a little since absurd lines like that normally came out of Rudel's mouth. Clovis heard her and, a bit surprised, responded, "S-sure… it's normal."
Alisa quickly left there and, without meaning to, bumped into someone at the door. Her eyes were closed from embarrassment, but upon opening them, she noticed the person was a girl and was on the floor with several books scattered around.
But a terrible panic ran down her spine when she saw that girl's legs—those legs were familiar to her. She didn't need to see her face to know who it was.
The fallen girl suddenly looked up to see the face of the person who pushed her and apologize, because that girl—Airi—was a good girl, so apologizing was normal for her.
Airi looked at Alisa's face for a few seconds. It was the first time in a week they'd seen each other since she brought her back to the academy in a boat after arriving in the capital.
Airi's face showed signs she had cried a lot. Her hair was also a mess. Immediately, she grabbed her books and said words Alisa never thought she'd hear from her.
"Forgive me for having bumped into you, Lady Bismarck. I'm just a simple commoner, so I beg you to forgive me for having collided with an aristocrat."
After standing up, she bowed and ran off without looking back. Alisa also didn't look in her direction.
◇◇◇
The school day was almost over. It was Friday, so several male students were preparing to go out.
In her classroom, Airi was sitting, writing down what they did today.
She heard some boys' voices that sounded very loud, and something caught her attention.
"Is it true, Fritz? You defeated a strange amorphous creature that turned into a black puddle alone!"
"Yeah. I don't know why it attacked me or where it came from, but that girl's group needed more members, and supporting the prince with his friends is a task we commoners who will get a position in the militia must perform."
The boy with chestnut hair and sapphire eyes spoke proudly.
Airi only knew about that boy from the introduction of all the students. When she tried to strike up a conversation, one of them said he'd heard a commoner with magical power had enrolled.
Immediately, Fritz made a disgusted face upon hearing that and said, "A commoner with magical power is the same as a spoiled child. All who possess magical power are egocentric people, with the exception of the Royal Family." Airi fell silent and sat alone at her desk since then. That's how, also unintentionally, a bond between the first commoner friend she and Liam would have been destroyed.
The commoner classmates didn't know of her existence before, but after hanging out with Rudel, they didn't even pay attention to her.
Fritz and his friends kept talking while Airi wrote her notes in a separate notebook.
"Without a doubt, the strange thing about that group is that those three—I mean, the prince and those two—didn't seem to distance themselves from that girl. I heard she's a Viscountess from class two."
"No doubt it's weird. Could she be special in magic or have some hidden talent?"
"Who knows?"
The bell indicating classes were over rang.
The commoner boys and girls wanted to have fun in the city for a while. Everyone was leaving. Airi grabbed her things as she headed out. Without meaning to, she passed by Fritz and heard what they said.
"Are you coming to the pub with us, Fritz?"
"Thanks, but I must keep improving my fencing skills. So, I'll stay late practicing."
"We understand. Good luck."
"Sure."
Fritz's friends said goodbye to him. He grabbed his things to go to the training field. No one imagined they wouldn't see him again within a few months.
◇◇◇
It was already night.
Very late, in fact.
Fritz was returning from training to the boys' dormitory.
The bathrooms for commoner and low-nobility boys were on the second floor; the bathrooms for high nobility were on the fourth floor.
Since it was late, he asked the supervisor for permission to use the bathrooms so late.
On his way to the bathroom, he found a rarity—not to say something impossible to believe.
A girl in a black uniform was standing in front of a door.
The rooms have the name of the student who sleeps there.
He knew the girl who was standing there knocking on the door.
She was a girl from his class, a commoner like him. Her name was Irisdina.
He only knew she was a commoner girl who hung out with two nobles.
For Fritz, something like nobles and commoners being together was aberrant.
Fritz passed by, ignoring what the girl said, repeating over and over.
"Rudel-san, are you awake?"
"Rudel-san, can we talk for a bit?"
"…Rudel-san, can you at least listen to me?"
(That girl has been doing the same thing for a week now.) —he thought as he headed to the bathrooms.
◇◇◇
Airi had spent the night outside her room again, trying to contact Rudel. She didn't know he was elsewhere and hadn't gone to the academy. After the week ended, she stopped insisting on talking to him.
◇◇◇
"Hmm… this is a bit complicated."
After sleeping a lot and no longer trying to find Rudel, the expression on Airi's face had improved.
The days at the academy had progressed normally. She was in the library studying some magic theory books for her class tomorrow.
Normally, life for her was like this—all for the purpose of meeting that special person according to the game's plot.
Only there was no special person or change in her life—with the exception of two people she met a few months ago. Thanks to those people, her days were radiant and happy. There wasn't a single day when she wasn't happy, until that incident happened and they cut ties.
She was affected for a while, but little by little, everything returned to normal—with the exception of strange rumors spreading about a certain student named Rudel.
Since she was always alone, she recovered quickly.
She had these thoughts after a few days.
(I originally came here to study.)
(As a commoner, my opportunities to excel in any future job besides agriculture are few.)
(Loneliness has always been with me since childhood. I can live with this.)
Suddenly, she stopped writing because a doubt arose about a question.
Normally, the teachers would answer, only with her they passed by to avoid a psychological breakdown.
"Rudel-san, can you help me with—"
Airi spoke while looking in a direction to ask a normal question to a certain person.
She stopped and looked back at her notebook.
Despite it being midday, there was no one in the library.
She was completely alone, just as the plot indicated.
◇◇◇
Alisa was in the lunch cafeteria.
She had come alone since her not-yet-official fiancé, Clovis, wasn't available to accompany her.
It's normal to find boys in the girls' cafeteria.
Alisa was sitting in one of the chairs, waiting for a servant to come ask her what she wanted to eat, since girls from important houses don't need to go personally to order.
Alisa remembered when she was with Airi—she would ask her what she wanted to eat, and Airi would bring the dishes for both of them.
Her face showed discomfort about what she had done wrong to earn her disdain.
She couldn't forgive Rudel for disrespecting her as a country noble. She tried to forget both him and her to concentrate on her own life.
That's when she heard footsteps approaching her.
Upon looking up, she noticed it was a group of boys in white uniforms. She just kept looking at them while still thinking about the reason Airi yelled at her.
They misinterpreted her expression as one of disgust.
One of the boys who seemed to be their representative stepped forward to speak on behalf of everyone.
"G-good afternoon, Lady Bismarck. You don't remember me, but I'm the heir of Lostbell Household. They call me Voldo."
Alisa kept looking at him. She didn't remember him, but if he was talking to her, it must be because he was one of the boys from her new entourage since the old ones were no longer around.
The boy, still trembling, spoke nervously.
"F-for a week now, you've been hanging out with the heir of the Arkwright's, if I'm not mistaken. I also don't see that commoner girl or that country guy with you."
Alisa continued looking at him without blinking.
"All of us here heard what happened with those pirates. Also about the rumors of him causing havoc at the academy."
The boy pointed at the others when he said that about Rudel. All the boys nodded in unison.
Alisa just looked at him and didn't say a single word.
"Perhaps that's why you no longer hang out with those two… that's where we and the girls at the table over there… we would like to know if you would allow us to be by your side now that you've gotten rid of those inferiors?"
Alisa closed her eyes and directed her hand to a glass on the table. It was empty, so it needed to be refilled with liquid.
That's when, once again, the plot returned to normal.
"My, my carbonated drink is empty. I wonder who could restock it?"
Then the representative boy took that hint and energetically grabbed the glass to go refill it, not without first going to talk to the girls at a distant table.
Alisa continued talking while looking at the table.
"Today on the menu, there was Caesar salad and stewed meat. I'd like a portion cut into small pieces and drizzled with orange cream."
"Also, I'm a bit interested in knowing what spring clothes will be in fashion for the holidays."
The remaining boys went to look for what she asked for, while a group of girls approached her table.
All of them introduced themselves and started chattering about absurd things Alisa never paid attention to, but now she listened for one reason.
Loneliness.
Because she had no one around her from childhood to adolescence, the Alisa from the game, seeking affection, did things a young girl, much less the daughter of an Archduke, should do.
She sought to fill that emptiness inside her, and the only thing she had known through people of dubious reputation was just one.
Promiscuity.
Without support from anyone—friends or family—she had become an obscene woman who, even after spending time with her fiancé Klein, hadn't managed to develop a bond.
The day she knew what she was doing was wrong was when she saw the crown prince chatting happily with a commoner.
Her heart was in tatters.
She had to use her body and give to some random guy whose name or face she doesn't remember the most sacred part of a girl. Alisa, as revenge for making her see how terrible her life was, decided to torment her so she would suffer like her.
She even cruelly humiliated her fiancé for self-satisfaction since he also spent time with that commoner and, unlike her, his fiancée, showed him a smile that might have illuminated his darkness.
She even decided to join forces with the worst kind of guy named Rudel. She only knew he had gotten away with disrespecting the crown prince several times.
She thought the same thing would happen again.
She was utterly mistaken.
Alisa's face filled with despair and fear when Rudel, in one of the game's routes, fell dead at the hands of the prince.
After that, her family decided to expel her from her house, her engagement broken, and with that came the end of the villainess Alicelotte von Bismarck.
A poor, lonely, and sad girl who never received a simple show of affection that could illuminate her heart.
And now she, little by little, was beginning to walk the same path.
◇
Finally, I was aboard the cruise ship.
Three large transatlantic-type cruise ships had arrived to take us to different places.
One was headed to an island where the climate is arid and made for dangerous sports. No thanks—I don't want to die again.
The second was headed to a tropical place with resorts. No doubt it's a great opportunity to learn about the business structure for my resort.
I was selected to go to that one. I'd gladly accept, but those idiot servants from last time were on that ship.
So, I decided to bribe some teachers to let me board and a random guy to switch trips with him. Of course, I also paid the bastard to switch.
Apparently, this trip is heading to an island that belonged to a country that was one of the four world powers, but after the second world war, this country and its ruler were eliminated, so its islands needed protection and became parts of other territories.
I was happy to step onto a place of great size and luxury that only Ixion could replicate.
I should be happy. That's right, I should be…
…But in reality, I wasn't. The reason was simple.
"Why are they here?"
I was annoyed by two things.
First, my headache hasn't gone away. It's worsened to the point I shouldn't even move from the pain. Thanks to a medicine Ixion created, I can move calmly since it suppresses the pain to the maximum. It's still there, but until this floating trash can figure out what's wrong with me, I'll have to take these pills.
The other, no less important, is that there are three people on this cruise ship I didn't want to see again… unless a situation as bizarre as this occurred.
I was in my bed watching a recording from Ixion.
It's supposed to be ancient super technology, and you're showing me a recording, but you can't do a live stream due to lack of technology? What kind of scam are you!
On the screen were my false friends.
Irisdina was walking through a lobby toward the ship's library. I also wanted to find good reading material so I wouldn't get bored since video games don't exist.
Alicelotte was in the game room at a poker table. She was with a large group of untrustworthy young people again. She wasn't gambling, but the others were.
Both had a strange expression of sadness in their eyes. I didn't care if they had some problem or not.
Now, the greatest misfortune of all was a single person—a certain idiot I made sure to find out where he'd be before switching to this ship.
The stupid prince.
He was touring all parts of the cruise ship looking for someone.
He was wearing an obvious black wig and dark glasses—it couldn't be more pathetic and obvious.
Looks like the teachers know it's him and don't do anything. The students don't even notice him.
I'm missing out on touring this place thanks to these three.
I really started this vacation badly.
◇
After a few hours—almost a day of travel—we finally arrived at the place.
I can't complain about not touring the cruise ship because the view of this place is beautiful.
Everything looks identical to a certain country from my previous life.
There were ancient wooden buildings in every visible place. The hotel was identical inside too. The doors were made of paper, so you delicately slid them open to avoid breaking them.
The island was so large it seemed like a small country. People wore something similar to a bathrobe. According to the hotel owner, who coincidentally has Eastern features from my past life, this clothing is called a yukata and is normally worn in summer seasons and at festivals—which, again, coincidentally are around these dates, so it seems I'll have more fun.
◇
The cruise ship's destination was an Eastern island for a week. That week had already come to an end.
It was night, and something called the Tanabata festival was being celebrated near the rivers.
Liam wasn't present since he had gotten lost trying to reach the river.
On the grass, there were people eating, laughing, and drinking something called sake. Food stalls in the area sold snacks called okonomiyaki, takoyaki, sushi, etc.
At the other end of the river, there were gigantic, beautiful pink trees called cherry blossoms.
Airi had rented a yukata since it was the most economical for her.
Her yukata was the same color as her eyes, with embroidered white flowers covering much of her clothing.
She was looking at this place in amazement. It was very different from her village, where there were no festivals and people didn't socialize like here.
Suddenly, she saw someone she hadn't run into in a while—Alisa. Unlike Airi, she was surrounded by a group of young people, both girls and boys. Some wore normal clothes, and others, like Alisa, wore more sophisticated traditional clothing called a kimono.
Her kimono was identical to her eyes. It had clouds of the same color as her hair embroidered in different parts.
Quickly, to avoid running into her, she hid behind some sake boxes stacked nearby.
Alisa and her group were talking as they passed near the boxes.
"Alicelotte-sama shouldn't try that round thing. It's very greasy and would get stained with oil."
"My lady, I don't recommend this drink. Its flavor is something the commoners of these lands enjoy."
"Lady Bismarck, it would be better for you if we returned to the center of town to admire the fireworks they'll launch soon. You must not mingle with these ragged, noisy commoners."
Alisa wanted to try typical drinks and dishes from the rural stalls, but her entourage told her not to since it wasn't well seen for the daughter of an Archduke to do the same as a commoner.
Airi came out of her hiding spot and watched as Alisa and her new friends enjoyed the tourism.
She turned her gaze to go the opposite way and enjoy what was left of the festival.
Until she heard a shout.
"Bastard!!"
"Don't play innocent!!"
Both she and Alisa turned their faces in the direction the loud voice came from.
For some reason, their legs moved toward that direction, and they saw three people making a scene.
Upon reaching the commotion, they observed three people. One was a woman with a very, very short skirt that left nothing to the imagination. Beside her was a burly man with a sleeveless shirt showing his dragon-shaped tattoos. And the last person was…
"Rudel-san!?" Airi shouted upon seeing him for the first time in months.
◇
I had enjoyed this whole week and come to the festival celebrated on the last day.
I rented a yukata, but I'm terrible at walking in it, so I returned it.
I was in normal clothes, so the night heat was very oppressive.
Ixion was examining the island even at these hours, looking for something related to ancient human technology to hide it. I wouldn't want to know what would happen if they recreated something terrifying.
In the rural stalls, there was a great variety of foods very similar to those I saw in cooking shows.
When I was about to order something called sukiyaki, suddenly I was grabbed by the shoulder by a tanned guy with a sleeveless shirt.
He yelled nonsense like "You touched my girlfriend's ass!" and "You have to pay for touching her!" …What the fuck are you telling me?
After being perplexed by that idiocy, I responded—"I don't know what the hell you're talking about? I haven't touched that woman, and besides, I wouldn't do it anyway. She's not in my preference category."
After saying that, the guy grabbed my shirt and yelled "bastard" and something else.
I heard the voices of the stall owners murmuring very loudly.
"Another victim, it seems."
"They must have been watching him for a while, it seems."
"Poor foreigner. They'll take every last coin of money from him."
Apparently, in this land, people like these aren't rare at all, and they're right. I was buying very expensive things for my family and myself.
(You think because I'm disgustingly rich, you can try to extort me?)
(I'll never allow it again!!)
(In my previous life, something similar happened to me right after starting work. I won't let it happen again.)
I grabbed the guy's hand and roughly removed it from my shoulder.
I said, grabbing him by his shirt, "I don't know how it is here, but it seems you don't know the difference between a noble and a commoner! So let me give you a lesson so that—"
Before I could finish my sentence like your typical oppressive noble, my ear was yanked from behind.
"It hurts!! Who the hell did that??"
I turned around, and my right ear was being pulled by…
"Don't pick fights with the locals!! You'll make us look bad."
…Alicelotte.
While with my free eye, I saw that other girl—Irisdina—apologizing on my behalf.
"I'm so sorry for the trouble he caused you."
For some incomprehensible reason, she also ran to pull my other ear while criticizing me.
"It doesn't matter if it's a scam. You shouldn't jump to solve problems with violence."
(Huh?)
(What the hell. Why are these harpies helping me?)
(No one asked for your help. Let me go! And more importantly… why am I smiling and not resisting?)
◇
These annoying girls brought me for some reason to a part far away from people.
You could hear folk music and commotion in the distance.
I was sitting annoyed on a staircase leading to a temple. Those girls were still here for some reason.
I'm annoyed with them.
What the hell do they want now?
I noticed they weren't looking at each other's faces—rather, they seemed to avoid looking at each other.
"Umm… well…"
The one who spoke in a somewhat shy tone was Irisdina.
"Rudel-san, have you been busy these months?"
(What kind of idiot question is that? If you haven't seen me all this time, it's because I haven't been at the academy… also, I saw you the other time in the hallway, so I hid in a classroom where a student and a teacher were doing inappropriate things.)
I responded simply and plainly, "My life is none of your business."
I looked at her when I said that, and my eyes turned to the next annoyance to tell her the same thing.
"Don't think I'll thank you for something I never asked you to do."
"Do me a favor, both of you, and don't meddle in my damn life from now on. Understood!"
I yelled at them loudly. Irisdina made a sad face and left crying. You deserve it.
While Alicelotte stayed for a while looking at me, and a tear fell from one of her eyes. She said goodbye to me after that.
"Alright. Have a good life, Baron Bradford."
With no hidden intention, I responded the same, "Same to you, Archduchess Bismarck."
When she was leaving, suddenly she stopped and continued after a few seconds.
I heard footsteps in the distance, and her group of useless friends came to pick her up.
A girl handed her a handkerchief, and Alicelotte accepted it.
Then a small group of idiots came toward me angrily.
"What did you do to my lady, you filthy peasant?"
Immediately, I grabbed the bastard, and when I was about to tell him something…
"Ugh. Gyaaaaaaaaaaah!!"
…My head started to hurt.
The guys looked at me as I writhed in pain on the ground.
"I don't know what's wrong with him, but you probably deserve it. Let's go."
The guys left after seeing me suffer on the ground.
"It hurts! It hurts a lot! Help, Ixion!!"
◇◇◇
The fireworks were minutes away from being launched.
People were looking for the best spots to see them.
Airi was sitting on a bench. She had cried a little but had calmed down after a while.
After wiping her tears, she noticed there were no lonely people waiting for the show. Around her, she was alone without company—even the street vendors had people near them keeping them company.
Again, she was getting depressed until she saw a girl wearing a yukata. She was alone. Airi thought about inviting her to watch the fireworks as a stranger.
But before a word could leave her mouth, a boy arrived with a plate of food for them.
Airi simply put her hands on her knees, waiting for this beautiful night to end.
◇◇◇
Alisa was watching Airi from behind at a distance where she wouldn't notice her.
Neither she nor her friends managed to reach the center in time, so they'd have to watch the fireworks from their position.
Alisa noticed a couple of local girls eating a greasy meatball. The smell was strong with lard, but that didn't bother her. She just kept watching as they smiled while eating, holding hands.
Alisa tried to do something similar with the girls in her entourage, but they all refused since it wasn't socially acceptable.
Her eyes only looked at Airi sitting, looking at the ground. Neither of them knew they were also being observed by Rudel, who was staggering uphill.
◇
The pain in my head was gradually decreasing as I moved away from the place.
I fell onto my back in front of a tree from mental exhaustion. That's when those girls entered my field of vision again.
Today really isn't my lucky day.
Suddenly, I heard someone approaching. I went on alert, thinking it was the guy and his slut looking for trouble again. Instead, who appeared was a strange guy.
"Oiya~? What's a healthy young foreigner doing here alone?"
A street vendor wearing clothes that looked like rags.
The weird guy approached me and helped me stand up.
I thanked him since the pain was decreasing more and more, and I was starting to feel better.
Not only his clothes, but also his hair, face, and voice seemed like those of a vagabond, though he wasn't since he had a small box with a pendant around his neck. He was a street vendor.
For helping me feel better—I don't know if it was really thanks to him, but just to feel much better, this made my mood rise too. I decided to buy whatever items he was selling.
"Old man, I'm in the mood, so sell me all your merchandise."
As the rich guy I am, I'll buy everything to show my generosity.
"I'm sorry, thanks, but I already sold everything."
I was left with an idiot's face after hearing that. Tough luck for him…
"But in the storage room where they were, I found these here. They were in a very dirty hidden box. After cleaning them, I polished them, but no one wanted them for some reason."
The old man took out of a sack he had hidden who-knows-where three objects in decorative wrappings.
Since I said I'd buy everything, I took a white gold coin from my pocket. It's a lot, but I'm in a very good mood now.
I opened one to see what they were while the old man's eyes sparkled at the coin.
The first wrapping was a woman's accessory—a hair clip. It was all black except for the center, where there was a beautiful and very characteristic sky-blue rose.
"This is no use to me. I'm a man, and I don't have those kinds of inclinations. Besides, my mom hates these things, and my little sister prefers more useful things over looking good. Next."
I left the hair clip in the box hanging from the ragged old man. I opened the second wrapping, and there was a pair of small diamond-shaped earrings. They were the same color as the hair clip—all black except for the crystal, which was sky blue.
"My mom doesn't wear such small things."
I left it in the box. We're going badly, very badly.
Finally, I decided to open the last wrapping, hoping for something useful, and the result was very surprising.
I said "Oh!" at the beautiful ring, like the other two items—black and sky blue, with small details that in the center was a circle forming a flower and the surroundings small diamonds, giving it a very precious image.
In my right hand, I've been wearing the beautiful gold and red ring until today, but this is new, so let's give it some new time of use.
I took off my red ring and replaced it with the new one. It's very beautiful, no doubt. Now the problem is these two extras.
(My little sister and mother wouldn't like these. Throwing them away doesn't sound very reasonable since they cost me a white gold coin. I can get more, but it's not the same to waste things. What can I do with them?)
While thinking about that, the old man told me, "Onii-san, the fireworks are about to start. You should go with your friends to enjoy the show."
(Friends, huh? I'd like to have true friends since I only got false friends who betrayed me…)
My honest thoughts suddenly stopped, and an idea occurred to me.
"Old man, do me a favor. I'll pay you for it too." I grabbed the old man to tell him to do this…
◇◇◇
Airi was still sad, sitting in the same position for a while. The fireworks were about to start when she heard footsteps.
Upon turning to where the footsteps were approaching her, she saw an old man with an object in his hand. She was a little scared when the old man reassured her.
"Good evening, ojou-san. I may seem suspicious, but I'm not. A certain person asked me to deliver this to you and another person."
Airi observed he didn't have one but two wrappings in his hands. The one on the right was for her.
After accepting the object a bit cautiously, she opened it slowly. Her eyes opened upon seeing the object inside, and just at that moment…
"Alright, everyone, the countdown has started. All together!"
…the countdown for the show began.
"Ten."
"Nine."
The people shouted joyfully with happiness at the long-awaited closing event.
Airi was looking at a beautiful hair clip that had a crystal rose in the center.
The old man was going in another direction when he was called by Airi's voice.
"Um… who gave you this?"
The voices of the people kept shouting while the old man responded in a funny tone.
"Five."
"Well… a not-at-all honest boy told me to deliver this to two girls with blond hair and sad faces. That said, he asked me to keep absolute silence, so shh!"
Airi kept watching as the old man ran toward Alisa's direction. He seemed to have trouble with her friends like bodyguards, but Alisa made a surprised face at something the ragged old man said.
"Three!"
The voices grew louder while Alisa took out some beautiful earrings.
"Two!"
Airi saw that and, just for a second, smiled since an image of three people together appeared in her head.
"One!"
"Tamayaaaaa!!"
At the instant both girls looked at that gift from a mysterious person, the fireworks were launched, illuminating the sky entirely. They hugged tightly with their hands that precious memory they finally obtained on this vacation.
◇◇◇
Rudel was hiding, watching everything near a tree.
He only said a few words before going back to the hotel a bit annoyed but with a strange smile.
"Tch. I told that old man not to say anything extra."