After he left the committee office, Arnold took in a deep breath of fresh air. While what was discussed earlier is very serious, he doesn't consider it detrimental to his daily life so it doesn't interfere with his break. It's basically just what's expected of him as a committee member and not a calamity that he needs to kill or something.
The hallways were filled with students enjoying their breaktime so many eyes were on him, unsurprisingly. And just as expected, no one approached. Do they fear him that much? Not that he hates the solitude.
He checked Wistorina's signature just in case and could confirm she's not in distress. It's a shame the artifact was still malfunctioning so teleportation is off the hook but with his speed, he should be able to make it halfway across the campus in a matter of seconds.
Curious about Myrena, he checked her signature as well. She's currently near Celeste and a few other student council members. They were gathered in one of the seventh-year classrooms.
'They must've approached her when they heard who she was.'
The Taelith House is a powerful household so it's imperative that connections are formed when presented the opportunity. By having her join the student council, the academy can use that as a sort of gateway to even more opportunities involving her family. And since the council reports directly to the board, the academy can use that chance to form connections between the Taelith House with both the board, its workers, the Tower, and the aristocracy.
Naturally since the academy also has valuable secrets, like the Adventurer Guild archives, as Head of the Taelith House, Arnold might just agree to form a relationship with the academy.
This also eliminates their power to suspend him due to the danger he poses to the school. Either lose that little power they have left over him or lose a powerful household that has a military force greater than the empire itself.
All in all, he's happy with how things went even if there's work to do. For now, he'll just keep the Halo active to find the suspects.
Just as he was about to pass by an open door leading outside, he heard Luke's voice. Stopping, Arnold looked, noticing Luke surrounded by a crowd. Olivia was quietly enjoying her lunch while the Hero was being bombarded with questions and his personal space invaded by girls of all grades. One was even sitting on the table, her skirt pulled up a bit and barely covering what was underneath. Another was hugging his arm with her cleavage on full display, giggling like an idiot when Luke talks and calling him cute.
'Huh, Luke isn't stuttering like I thought he would.' In fact, he was confidently speaking to them.
Lauran, who should've been attending to Luke, was nowhere to be seen.
Her signature indicates she's with Anais right now. They got started on the project quick, it seems.
Arnold was suddenly grabbed by a thin pair of arms from behind.
"Hello dear~"
It was Elizabeth. And to his surprise, Grace was also with her.
"Oh, it's you. You ran off earlier without telling me what you wanted as a reward. What was that about?"
"I-It can wait until tonight…" stepping away and with a blush, she replied while making an 'X' with her index fingers.
"Fufufu, what a vixen! Wait until you see what she bought just for you~" Grace poked her cheek. Elizabeth's entire face burned red and it looked like she was about to faint.
"Since when have you two been hanging during breaks?"
How did Grace put up with her ugly face, he thought but didn't voice out that rude remark.
"You should be wondering why you have no friends to hang out with instead." Grace shot back.
Thinking about it, he never actually had guy friends. He was always surrounded by lackeys who listened to every order. But he mostly hung out with girls if he got tired of the ants. This always led to sex after school, something he got bored of.
Grace looked out the door.
"My, do you want to hang out with Luke but you're too shy to go up to him?" you could hear the biting amusement in her voice.
"Not really." He managed to get Elizabeth off him for a second but she just glued herself to him again.
"Olivia was right, though. You being seen with him will just ruin his reputation. I'm glad you realize that."
"What? I don't care about that. I just think it's best we don't get involved with each other."
Even if he said that he'll be there for Arnold if he needs his help, the possibility of them becoming enemies shouldn't be ruled out. Arnold operates on a beneficial basis—he would murder if needed. That would conflict with the Hero, so the two might end up fighting in the future. As such, it's best he keeps the kid at arm's length at least.
Flora might also become his enemy since the two are very alike.
"That's what you think but it seems he doesn't." Grace gestured outside with her eyes.
Arnold glanced back, noticing Luke looking over at him with a big smile and waving. He said something to Olivia which suddenly made the crowd disperse immediately.
What the hell…
The boy then ran up to the three of them and greeted them with an energetic shout.
"Morning, Brother, Big Sister Grace and Big Sister Elizabeth!"
"E-Eh? Me, Big Sister?" Elizabeth stuttered while pointing at herself.
"?" the boy looked confused, not sure why she reacted like that.
"What's wrong? You're going to marry Al, no?" Grace raised an eyebrow. "Luke is technically younger than you since you started out here two years later than Lauran, who is 16. He is also Al's adoptive brother so it makes sense for him to call you that."
"M-M-M-Marriage? Right…! We're going to marry one day and have lots of children!" Elizabeth hugged him again, face completely flushed while she laughed to herself and her eyes made spirals.
It felt like the Grim Reaper was hugging him.
"Please join us at the table, Brother!" Luke grabbed Arnold's hand and pulled him forward.
…
"Why are you using that eye outside battle? Are you trying to look through a girl's clothes?" Olivia greeted them shortly then immediately spoke to Arnold.
"Just training my energy consumption." He came up with a bullshit excuse on the spot.
Being able to see girls naked with this eye is certainly something he wants but alas, it doesn't have that ability.
"I won't ever get used to seeing you with it… Anyway, we visited your father yesterday."
"How is he?"
"Not in any critical condition. But his bones were broken in a way that they can't easily be put back in place. You snapped them like twigs in your violent altercation with him."
Right, he didn't exactly dislocate anything, but rather he broke bones. Restoration won't be as simple as using a healing potion. On the contrary, the healing process will involve advanced medical techniques coupled with bones reconstruction. Just like with twigs, little pieces of Marcus' bones may have spread into his bloodstream, at risk of infection and swelling.
The alternative was killing him so no guilt remained. And with that voice that almost felt like a desire in his head, he was close to going through with it.
"Was my mother there?"
"Yes. She's currently staying there for the next week at least. You probably know this already, but there will be a price on your head soon. The empire may be powerless to do anything given the risk but it can still reward those brave enough to do their job for them."
"Their job? Execution?" Grace asked.
"Yes. Expect assassins by tonight," Olivia then looked at the frowning Elizabeth, "It's better if you don't go back to your dorm room, Miss Elizabeth. You can stay in my room tonight. I will be sleeping over at the Berkley villa as usual."
"Elizabeth will be fine." Arnold answered in her stead, "Rather, these would-be assassins have no chance of hurting me nor the only person in the world that can actually kill me."
That person being Elizabeth.
The three at the table looked at Elizabeth. She then looked at Arnold in confusion. Well, it's true through. She is on his level and has the best chance at killing him. But he's not worried since it's impossible for her to become his enemy.
This was already ensured in their childhood days.
To maintain that relationship he'll have to do everything she asks for. Knowing her, she probably won't abuse this power dynamic and is just a maiden who is madly in love.
"Let's move on. My terrible life can't be that interesting for you to talk about it so much," he joked but none laughed, "Did my mother say anything to you, Luke?"
"Eh, like what?"
"Anything related to me."
He shook his head.
Not believing him, Arnold looked at his status, trying to identify that Death Flag.
Huh? It's missing.
Normally he would be overjoyed that one of the most powerful individuals isn't destined to kill him. But for it to be this soon, it's strange.
Luke blushed for some reason while Arnold's intense gaze was fixed on him.
In any case, it seems his mother didn't brainwash Luke into hating Arnold. Adrianna might be a terrible mother but it's not right to think she would want her son dead.
"She said she wants to meet with you but given the circumstances, that will be difficult. In the past, I could simply take you to the palace but with how you spooked everyone yesterday, that's off the table." Said Olivia as she cut into her pie.
"I want to meet her as well but I don't know what I'd say so I'll wait a bit."
"No teleporting into the palace with that ring of yours. Understood? You're causing unnecessary panic."
"…Alright."
"Has anyone from the Imperial Faction approached you yet?" she asked randomly.
"No? Why would they?" to them, Arnold is a threat to the throne so trying to recruit him would be like taming a wild animal.
He wouldn't accept anyway.
"Ronia said she wants to meet you. I assumed she wouldn't use direct methods but rather do it in a roundabout way. Say, she has one of her members persuade you to have a meeting with their top brass but the one who you will meet ends up being Ronia."
"Very specific scenario. That happens a lot, I take it?"
"Yes."
'She's trying to sink her claws into me this soon, huh. Better keep my distance from her for now.'
She will succeed. There's no winning against her. At least until he finds measures to fight against her.
Arnold glanced at the silent Luke, "What about you, Luke? Has she approached you to join her side yet?"
"No but… Olivia says I shouldn't accept."
She will most likely respect his decision but he will inevitably become a target.
Olivia is right to suspect her sister will do something to Luke. There's a route in the game where this happens and the player is completely locked from playing Luke ever again. This technically ends the story and you are forced to watch the story play out by itself without your input. But that doesn't last long.
Unsurprisingly, this caused outrage among the player base since—regardless of difficultly—there was a point of "no return". Despite this, the route was never removed or altered so that players could regain control again. The only way to avoid the end of that route is—well, avoiding anything that leads to it.
"Ronia will most likely back off if you tell her you don't want to be part of her faction. But if she manages to beat Julius, it will become impossible to avoid her since she will become empress." Said Arnold.
"He's right." Olivia confirmed.
"Don't even think about joining the Crown Faction, though." Grace warned.
"Why is that…?"
"You are a symbol to everyone. If you join one faction, society will think you favor one group over the other and the group will face a lot of backlash due to your decision."
Grace is right. Even the emperor and Prime Minister aren't backing either of the royal factions. If you have the responsibility to handle power that impacts an entire population, depending on how it's used, you are expected to remain neutral most of the time.
This is why the first Emperor established the Imperial Court, a circle of elite not bound by ambition but by deciding the fate of many national matters. They're the arbiter of equality. And with the Emperor and Prime Minister a part of this Court, no one can abuse that power.
A democracy would cripple this balance since voters can be bought over, something Cain wants with his Commoner Faction. This isn't Earth where the pen was the strongest weapon humanity has.
"I shouldn't endorse either, right?"
"Yes, Sir Luke. If a noble comes up to you at a party and ask for your input on politics then gradually begins to speak about the factions, try to change the subject because people will take your words seriously because it holds weight. Don't even agree that one of the faction members' daughters is beautiful, but only say her future husband will be very lucky."
"Hng… I have to listen to what I tell people even though I just want to save people!?"
"Unfortunately, yes. Always choose your words carefully because there are certain people that will twist them to fit a narrative to sway the public. This happened with other individuals who humanity also saw as heroes."
"G-Got it…"
'I was expecting Olivia to tell him that she will speak for him in public…' Arnold thought as he glanced at the princess.
Hopefully Luke won't become a doormat in the future, something that took him years to change.
"I thought the two of you would be at each other's throats today after that argument you had yesterday." He brought up what happened yesterday.
"I've already admitted my mistake and promised him that I would change so that there isn't any lasting hatred." Olivia answered, "While I still firmly believe that you are trouble that will ruin his reputation, it is up to him to decide who he wants to keep close. He is already an adult, after all."
"You're fifteen already? Why wasn't there a ceremony?"
If there was, then Marcus could've used that to announce Luke's identity. But even though there wasn't, he could've still had a gathering of sorts to tell everyone in the family before announcing it to the public. But maybe the emperor forbade it.
The Golden Aura would've been a dead giveaway but he can't use it, though. Thinking back, many of the servants saw Luke use it when he lost control in his spar against Arnold. They must respect Marcus a lot to not babble to the whole world.
"I didn't want anything grand…" he laughed awkwardly. "I'm still not used to being part of nobility. All I asked for was a cake but Miss Adrianna bought out a whole bakery."
"Why are you so curious? Did you want to give him a present?" Grace asked. She had genuine shock on her face, which he felt was a little insulting. He can also be kind… if it benefits him.
Luke's eyes sparkled for some reason while looking at Arnold intensely.
"No, I just thought my father would make the big announcement when the whole family is gathered. Age-of-coming ceremonies tend to be important, after all."
Luke's sparkle vanished.
Is he that excited for a present?
"You didn't treat yours as important. Only as an excuse to get access to newer girls." Grace remarked.
"Guilty as charged." He answered boredly.
He looked back to Luke as something popped in his head.
"Actually, there is something I wanted to give you."
"Really!? What is it!?" he responded unnaturally enthusiastic.
"I bought a bottle of Princely last year but never used it before."
Honestly, he has way too many bottles of cologne laying around, some never used.
"Princely costs ten gold per bottle and there an entire waitlist for even nobles and you just give it away as some pity present?" Grace looked at Arnold while shaking her head.
Being looked at like that is saddening.
"I have already bought Sir Luke cologne—several times in fact from different brands and he has never used any of them." Olivia said.
"What do you use then?" after Arnold asked, Luke dug around in his bag and pulled out a small bottle then placed it on the table.
"Isn't that the stuff Anna uses?" he recognized the shape and name on the bottle.
Scratching his cheek, Luke explained, "I like this type of cologne better."
"Luke, that isn't cologne. It's perfume for women…" Grace answered, "Boys shouldn't be using it, you know… Even if you're the Hero, people will make fun of you behind your back. You have no idea how big of a deal something like that is in the aristocratic world that you're a part of…"
She's not wrong. Nobles will find the tiniest thing to criticize about others. This has reputational damage as well.
Since Luke is the Gods' Champion, he will get the most of this sort of attention.
Speculations will go around how Luke might be a woman but that's obviously not true, nor was he reincarnated as a boy after dying as a girl before.
"W-Well, it smells nice so I like it…" he hurriedly grabbed it and put it away.
"…What shampoo do you use?" Grace asked.
"Mine." Olivia sighed.
'So that's why he smells like that…'
"Hmm, I see, I see… Then, Luke, what's your favorite dress?" a smirk on her face, Grace asked.
"W-What kind of question is that!?" Luke stammered and glared at her.
"Oh, sorry for assuming things, hehe~" She didn't seem sorry at all, "Buuut~ If you're ever in need of fashion assistance, you can always tag along with me and Liz since we're going to be shopping a lot."
"Y-Yes, your Big Sis will be there for you!" Elizabeth played along, trying to act as his reliable sister-in-law. Her eyes looked way too scary, which made Luke shudder.
"Your kindness is appreciated Elizabeth but Grace is obviously trying to tease Sir Luke, implying he's either a Velvetine or wants to be a woman."
"E-Eh? What's a Velvetine?"
"A nice way of describing a man who likes girly things." Arnold answered.
Luke probably doesn't know this but the term is very insulting to noble boys. They would even duel others to defend their name.
"I-I'm not either of those things!"
"That's how it can be interpreted." He shrugged, "So stop using Olivia's stuff and use what boys should use."
"For once I agree with Arnold," Olivia said, "Many boys are pampered by their mothers and often even use their mothers' stuff well into their coming of age but society will look at you differently if you aren't normal. So, for the sake of how others will see me and this marriage—this union between us—please grow out of this phase."
"…" Luke looked up at Arnold.
"I agree with her. But then again, it's your life." Arnold said.
"Okay… I'll stop…"
"Good." Oliva nodded in satisfaction.
"Brother… Can I have the Princely cologne?"
"Sure, it's still in my room so you can come fetch it after school."
The boy smiled wryly as he said "okay".
Arnold couldn't help but think of this Hero's life as a village brat before all the fame and glory.
Luke had no father growing up since both his parents died when he was very young. No older brothers to wrestle with in the yard or sneak him into places they don't belong. No male role models to shape him, to explain the subtle and unspoken rules of what "masculine" meant in their society. The only example he'd ever had was the woman who raised him, clothed him, and fed him—a woman who loved him, but could not make him see the world through anything but her lens.
Of course he would take on their ways without question. Of course perfume and floral shampoo were not "girly" to him—they were simply normal. They were the smells of home, of gentle hands and warm voices. A small comfort in a world that would do nothing but take from him, demand from him, and use him from the very moment it found out that he was the Gods' Champion.
Claudia was a gentle woman who never wanted Luke to become a fighter and for a time he obeyed this wish of hers. But with how they used to live in the middle of a fiefdom plagued by bandits and such, there came times when his strength was necessary even if he was only a little stronger than others his age.
While he never learned the proper ways to become a warrior, he tasted a little of what it felt like to be relied on—something men begin to yearn from a young age. But he didn't know that men yearn to be relied on or called brave and admired, because there was never a man around to teach him that.
This also led to him never being curious about the opposite sex because in his young mind, he thought he had learned everything about women, with no interest in what it felt like to love.
If he knew this, his relationship with Norn would've progressed further than where it was now.
This contributed to his consummation with Olivia being a mess because he felt no sexual attraction to the female body. But somehow, he loves Norn but had no idea why he felt excited by her body.
Arnold noticed Luke staring at him, looking a little down.
He had wondered why Luke has been so affectionate with him lately: always staring, wanting to be close to him, seeking guidance from him first…
The reason for this is something he finds quite troublesome since this means the Hero will always want to be close to him—something that had never happened in the game.
He'll just ignore it. The brat will grow out of it.
"—Uhm, Princess Olivia…" a first-year student came up to Olivia with her friend, "Sorry for bothering you…"
"Yes? How may I help?" she turned to the two.
"I-I was wondering if your store in Sroln is going to be okay. There's a necklace I want to buy on auction for my mother when I get my first paycheck at my part-time job. The waiting list has us near the very top but we were sent a letter saying that if the branch closes, we may get kicked off…"
"That's sad to hear but the economy is an unpredictable beast so we're preparing to shut it down and move somewhere else. What's the name of this necklace? I'm sure I can put in a good word for you at one of my partners." Olivia answered in a business-like tone.
"I think it was the Sapphire Bloom gem. I was told it's the last one in stock and there's a bid for it that I'm certain to win if I save up for two more months."
"Ah, that. It's not that popular with the people since there are prettier gems out there and the bidding it moving quite slowly. As such, the price remains at a fixed price for longer periods that what you would expect of auction items. But I apologize, the product will be delisted for a while until we're ready to reopen the branch in another location."
"C-Can it not be sent somewhere else first before being delisted?"
"Yes, but remember that each region has different tastes so there is a chance that if a certain product is less desired in one location, it will sell out in another. Some people probably have not heard of the Sapphire Bloom. The name alone evokes curiosity, don't you think?"
"Aaaahhh! What am I going to do!? I don't have that kind of money now!!" as she cried out, her friend smiled wryly and patted her shoulder.
The friend then looked at Olivia, "Thank you for letting us know, Princess Olivia. Once again, we apologize for interrupting." She bowed her upper body and pulled her whimpering friend away.
Olivia looked down at the table silently before packing away her half-eaten lunch.
"You're closing down the branch completely, aren't you?" Grace assumed.
"…Several actually." She sighed softly, "Operation costs became too much for us to handle after tourism died down in Sroln. This affected the other branches. The city's problems only caused people to avoid going there, thus we were left with too much inventory that we expected would sell."
While their jewelry store has several branches, these could only be counted on two hands since they were a small business that only goes where traffic is the most.
"Celeste said that she will try to secure new investors but who will invest in an academy girl? We decided that Plan B will be to trim our branches down to just three, one in the Theocracy, and the other two in Toril and Horvine."
"Isn't it weird that none of the nobles want to invest in your business? You're the princess for crying out loud."
Arnold agreed with Grace's statement silently.
"Unfortunately, I am still a student and have yet to prove myself. No one would take the risk."
"That's unfortunate… I hope things improve." Grace answered awkwardly.
Olivia made a small wry smile.
The solution to this would be to just ask Jurnick to invest in their business anonymously. But Olivia doesn't want that. That's what sets her apart from other royal families.
Most noble children don't want to use their family names to get ahead in life so she's not the only one with this mindset.
Arnold wanted to bring up how the city will stay in the Rynald Family's rule, but there's no telling how long that will take since, knowing politicians and nobles, they might try to extend this deal so that it never gets finalized.
He'll have to cross that bridge once he informs Selia of this.
Just as he was in the middle of having small talk with Luke and the rest, something caught his eye.
'A system window?'
It was a transparent floating window.
'Why is one of your windows open? I don't recall asking you anything.' He spoke to the System.
-Acknowledged: Any stray windows shall be closed in a moment. Loading… Loading…
-Curious: There do not seem to be any stray windows open connected to Player Arnold.
'Huh?' he then looked at the window again, noticing Grace stare in its direction as well. One could tell by her concentration that she was thinking about something as her eyes moved up and down. It was quite subtle so unless someone was staring at her intently, you wouldn't notice her doing that.
Arnold looked closer with his eye and noticed that the contents were about him.
-"Answer: NPC Arnold is a Dragon Lord factor with Plesiduxius' soul."
Her eyes suddenly widened and she glanced at Arnold, who swiftly looked away. She quickly looked back at the screen.
It's confirmed now.
There is a player other than him.
And to think it was someone this close to him.