After sending Emil and Sierra away.
Lia hesitated, facing Bran.
Bran leaned against the desk, looking relaxed, and asked Lia.
"So? How are you going to compensate me? I can still wait a bit, though."
"…If, if you wait. …For how long?"
"Well…, I can wait until the end of next semester. Our family won't know the vase is broken until then."
"..."
At Bran's words, Lia's chest began to stir again.
Next semester.
There was no way she could come up with a huge sum of 20 gold coins in just a few months.
'Oh, what do I do…? Something, a way…. A way….'
Lia racked her brain faster than ever.
She had to think of a way to overcome this moment.
And one thing came to mind.
"Couldn't you… give me a little more time…?"
Unfortunately, the only thing that came to mind was to ask for an extension of the grace period.
But naturally,
that was not allowed.
"I just told you. Our family will find out by the end of next semester."
"..."
"If I don't receive compensation before then, I'll be in big trouble too."
"...Th-that's right."
It was obvious.
A precious vase worth as much as 20 gold coins.
From its appearance alone, it was a lavish vase inlaid with jewels.
Bran's demand felt natural.
Because of that.
"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry…."
"Huh?"
Lia just apologized, her head bowed low and hands trembling.
But at least,
since apologies should be made looking into someone's eyes, she bravely lifted her head and faced Bran.
With tears welling in her trembling eyes, Lia spoke.
"My family…, we're poor, ugh, it's… difficult to prepare that much money so quickly."
"..."
"So…, I know this is really shameless of me…, *sob*, if you just give me a little more time, I'll definitely…."
"Ah…, really? You don't have money."
"*Sniffle*, I'm sorry…, I'm sorry, Bran…."
"..."
Lia apologized, tears dripping with remorse.
But Bran,
looking at her, smiled subtly.
"Alright…, then there's nothing else to do."
"Huh…?"
"I'll have no choice but to inform my family. They'll contact you soon. If you can't compensate…, you know what that means, right?"
"Ah, no! Bran! Please…!"
At Bran's words, Lia desperately clung to him.
If she couldn't compensate for such a huge sum, Lia's parents would go to prison or be sold into slavery.
Unable to let her family suffer such a fate due to her mistake,
Lia sank to the floor, grabbing Bran's trousers and pleading.
"P-please…! Please, just help me once…! Please…! I'll do anything…! So…!"
"Hmm…."
Bran suppressed a smile at Lia's expected reaction.
Then, after giving off an air of contemplation for a moment,
"Then…, how about we do this?"
He gently bent down and helped Lia stand up.
Then, looking down at the weeping Lia, he gazed at her greedily.
He quietly whispered to Lia.
"Shall we resolve it our way?"
"Our, way…?"
"If it goes well, I'll pretend the vase was never broken."
"R-really?!"
At Bran's words, promising to forgive a sum of 20 gold coins, Lia responded in surprise.
Her expression showed she was ready to accept immediately.
"What is it? What do I have to do?"
"It's nothing much, just play a game with me."
"...Huh?"
What came out of Bran's mouth was unexpected.
"A game…?"
"Yeah, it's simple. If you earn enough money to cover the vase's value through a game. Then I'll pretend it never happened."
"..."
"Normally it's really not allowed. Lia, I'm only giving you special permission because it's you."
"..."
To earn 20 gold coins worth of money through a game.
In other words, …it meant gambling.
"..."
But Lia had no time to doubt, nor was she in a situation to refuse.
"Alright…, what kind of game is it…?"
She was confident when it came to games.
Besides, Bran always came in last during club activities.
Perhaps, this was a gesture of consideration from Bran to her?
A consideration meant to prevent her from feeling guilty about the 20 gold coins.
Lia even had such naive thoughts as she accepted Bran's proposal.
And then.
"H-hold on, wait…, just a moment…, this can't be…."
"This is the third time…. Do you want to play a fourth round?"
"..."
The sun set, and it was late at night when she realized.
The game was a card game.
It was a game played only by Bran and Lia.
But there were observers.
Four men, said to be from Bran's family.
Lia had borrowed money from them for the game.
At first, she won.
The moment she won, she saw hope.
But things started going strangely from the second game onwards.
And the moment she came to her senses.
"How much did Lia borrow?"
"50 sheets total, Young Master."
"Alright, that's a shame, Lia. Still, at least this much means I'll exclude the vase's value."
"..."
"A contract is a contract, you know it can't be undone, right?"
"But…"
Before the game started.
Lia had signed a parchment contract with Bran.
On a parchment enchanted with magic that compelled absolute obedience to the other party if the contract was broken.
Bran had enticed her, saying, 'What if I lose and cancel the vase issue?'
And it became Lia's perfect shackles.
It was over.
…Bran thought so, smiling slyly.
"It's alright, Lia."
"..."
"The vase, well…, I can explain that to your parents properly. As for the debt…."
"..."
"Right, since it's separate from the vase. Pay that back slowly. …At your leisure."
Lia said nothing.
Was she thinking she had been tricked?
Or was she shocked by the increased debt?
But Bran didn't care.
What was important was.
That he had her.
'Still, Lia is taken care of…, Emil is….'
Bran approached Lia, gently stroked her hair, and thought of Emil.
He had a hunch, but Emil had clearly targeted Lia.
A thief who tried to steal what was his.
'Even so…, he hasn't done anything yet, so should I let it go?'
However, Bran readily forgave Emil.
After all, Lia was now his.
If Emil had touched Lia after this, he would have taken appropriate measures against him.
Other than that,
Bran wanted to savor the feeling of having obtained Lia.
And then.
*Creak.*
"…You were doing it after all, Bran."
"...What is it?"
The door to the dark club room opened.
Emil appeared.
"E-Emil…!"
And as Emil appeared, Lia's eyes, which had been lifelessly bowed until just now, brightened.
As if she had seen hope.
"What are you doing here, Emil…?"
Bran, filled with surging jealousy at the sight, glared fiercely at Emil.
At the same time, the men behind Bran slowly moved forward.
It was an unspoken threat.
Meaning, if he wanted to walk out unharmed, he should just turn back.
But.
*Stomp, stomp.*
*Creak….*
*Click.*
Emil walked into the classroom.
And closed the door, as if he had no intention of leaving.
"What do you mean, what am I doing?"
And he smiled faintly, looking at Lia.
"I came to mess you up."
At that moment.
*Crash!!*
"W-what was that?!"
"The window?!"
The annex window shattered, and someone leaped in under the moonlight.
And the one who suddenly appeared,
with her blonde hair flying, charged at the four men.
"This crazy bitch━!!"
The men swung their fists at Chris, who charged at them as if she were a joke.
But.
*Thud!!*
"*Gasp*…!"
*Whoosh!*
*Clatter!*
Chris dealt with the men one by one.
One at a time.
Knocking them out cold.
In less than a minute, the four burly men were sprawled on the floor.
"..."
Bran stared at the scene with dumbfounded eyes.
"E-Emil…! I didn't kill them like you said…!"
"Yeah, good job."
"Hehehe…."
Chris giggled shyly at Emil's praise, then lightly skipped over and stood behind him.
And she glared at Bran with her hollow blue eyes.
It was an unspoken threat.
The situation had been reversed.
*Stomp, stomp.*
"Now then, Bran."
*Drag….*
Emil brought over a chair.
"Shall we talk now?"
He took a seat at the table where Lia and Bran had just been playing their game.
"..."
"E-Emil…."
Bran, his face stiff with surprise.
Lia, looking at him with tears streaming down her face.
Emil looked at the two of them and recalled memories from the third timeline.
'Hey, Emil. Won't you play a game for Lia?'
'So…. Sacrifice yourself for me, Emil.'
Looking at a scene completely different from then, Emil smiled contentedly.
And Bran, unable to maintain his usual poker face,
glared at Emil with a resentful expression.
"What… what exactly is this, Emil?"
"What do you mean, what is this? Weren't you going to cause a scene anyway? I just finished it a bit quickly."
"...I don't understand. You showing up suddenly, and then suddenly coming here and making people like this. Did you even know what Lia and I were doing here in the first place?"
"..."
At Bran, who was speaking more than usual, Emil smiled slyly.
And, resting his chin on his hand, he quietly replied.
"I know, that you're tricking Lia with lies and scamming her."
"…What?"
"Sc-scam? Emil…, what are you talking about…?"
At Emil's words, Bran clenched his fists, and Lia grabbed Emil's arm and asked.
"You supposedly broke an incredibly precious vase, right? That's why you urged Lia to play a game."
"..."
"But isn't that strange?"
"What on earth are you talking about?"
At Bran's feigned ignorance, Emil's faint smile vanished.
And after glancing at Lia's bewildered face, he spoke again.
"Why would you bring something so valuable to the academy?"
"..."
"You said it was something very precious to your family. And you'd even let it go through a game? Just because of a friendship from doing club activities together during summer vacation?"
"..."
"Lia, did you even properly check in the first place? That vase, is it really that expensive?"
"...N-no."
At Emil's question, Lia shook her head.
She had simply been flustered by its expensive appearance and believed the amount Bran told her.
She hadn't even considered that it might be a lie.
And.
"..."
Bran closed his mouth.
He just glared at Emil, who spoke so confidently.
'Why does that bastard know about the vase…?'
However, there was a part he couldn't understand.
How did that guy know to come here in the first place?
The vase had only broken this morning.
He hadn't seen Lia tell Emil anything in the interim.
'No…, that's not what's important….'
Bran maintained his composure.
He composed his expression and spoke calmly as usual.
"So? Do I just need to prove the vase's value? Or explain why I brought it here? Is that all?"
Yes.
What Emil was talking about was just something that needed to be proven.
He could 'manipulate' that much anytime.
But.
"No, sorry. Actually, that's not why I came."
"...What?"
Emil snorted at Bran's words and shook his head.
And then.
*Thunk!*
"..."
"..."
Emil plunged a knife onto the table.
The sharp blade of the knife cleanly pierced and stuck into the wooden table.
"I have a proposal too."
"..."
"Want to play a game with me, Bran?"
Emil smirked, looking at Bran's stiff face.
A situation exactly opposite to the third timeline.
"The stakes are fingers. Ten in total."
Emil simply enjoyed this situation.