Today it was my turn to meet with the six great nobles.

I was thinking about the kind of attitude I would take before them. Erselica approached me with a cup of tea while I was reviewing various documents to give me a head start.

Ixion who was next to me noticed something by one name.

"Oh, isn't this the record of transactions with those merchants?"

"He would keep the record of illegal transactions like these around?"

"Maybe they didn't completely trust Derrick? He must have kept it as his ace up his sleeve when the time came that he needed it."

"Hmm~."

Apparently, that merchant even handed out the "orb" that was forbidden to be taken outside the country.

Based on the supreme kingdom's law, this was undoubtedly a crime worthy for applying capital punishment.

"This increased our blackmail materials."

"Master, you are making a perverse expression."

"My face has been like this since I was born, so people often don't understand me. That really makes me sad."

When I laughed, Erselica's gaze wandered restlessly.

The tattoo that looked like a necklace around Erselica's neck had disappeared. The curse of the sacred tree had been dispelled.

"It's good that the curse has been dispelled."

"Huh?"

I reached out my hand to Erselica's head to pet her like a dog.

"Did you really think I was mad at you?"

"It's just that...! The look on your face was terribly scary at that moment! I remembered what happened the last time you did it and I was terrified that you want to take it out on me too! Besides, that idiot Ixion really made me believe that he betrayed you!"

"Ixion already got the information when Derrick went to beat us up."

"Huh?!"

Ixion nodded with his spherical body.

"Yes. However, information was missing, so I decided it would be dangerous to fight at that time. At the same time, it was a good opportunity to infiltrate Derrick's circle of friends, so I switched sides without consulting the master."

Erselica seemed to feel relieved and helplessly fell to her knees like a doll whose rope was cut off.

Her complexion also improved. She even became tearful.

"Say that from the beginning, I was really scared!"

"It's better if the number of people who know something like this is as few as possible."

I held Erselica's documents under my arm, but then Erselica suddenly muttered a "Hah!" with a panicked expression.

"B-But what will become of Derrick now? I don't know if he'll be able to return to the academy after you crushed him like that. And what if this will cause Aster to go to war against the kingdom?"

I had even thought about the risk Erselica was mentioning with worry, but I had run out of patience to remain silent without doing anything.

Besides. It would not come to a war.

"I don't think there will be a war. I showed Schwert's power so that won't happen. But, the probability of Derrick returning to the academy is low, just like you said."

"Isn't that a big problem, the event of Derrick causing trouble for the heroine is an important event in the intermediate stage! The worst thing is that it already happened and none of the targets were present that day at the duel!"

It certainly was an important event for the heroine to decide who she was going to date. However, I felt it would be a mistake to have Lucy date someone just because of that.

Besides, there was insurance.

"No problem. After all, it looks like Lugh is being serious about his relationship with Diana."

Ixion continued my explanation in a way Erselica could easily understand.

"Lugh is seriously considering marrying Diana. Also regarding the sacred tree emblem, it seems that the condition to inherit it is mainly decided by one's bloodline."

"What do you mean?"

"Lucy and Diana are twin sisters. This means that they both have the possibility of becoming a priestess."

There would be no problem in choosing the priestess. And if the priestess were selected, then she would be able to select the guardian afterwards.

The problem would be solved if Diana was chosen priestess and then Lugh became the guardian.

If in the worst case situation Lucy was the chosen one, her lover candidate, a random boy, could become the guardian. Could he become one?

Well, that boy was not one of the capture targets, but there should be no problem.

In any case, what mattered was that the danger to the world could be evaded like this.

"Then everything will be fine!"

Erselica looked relieved once again as she thought that she was glad she had sent Ixion to Derrick's side. Because of that, Ixion was able to ask Derrick about several things and also inquired about Aster's domestic situation in great detail.

"But, there is also a question that came out of this."

"Question?"

"The six great nobles of Aster were discussing how to deal with us at this time."

"If we were to be sent home, how could we make sure there was no danger to the kingdom or the world?"

That is a very valid question. So there is only one simple answer to that.

"Leave it to me, it's time to get Aster's offsets out!"

"... That's what I'm worried about."

◇◇◇

Sara was called back to the Rosenberg Household mansion.

Her father Randolf questioned her about the incident this time inside his office.

"... Sara, why did you do something like that?"

Sara was lowering her head. Randolf couldn't question her too harshly because he knew the blame lay with the Herring Household. However, his position as a politician compelled him to criticize his daughter's decision.

"You are a citizen of Aster's Supreme Kingdom. You have a duty to prioritize the welfare of your country above anything else."

Sara only replied "I understand" in a weak voice.

"Certainly Derrick exaggerated this matter. But it will be a problem if the sapling of the sacred tree remains in the possession of someone who is not from this country. Besides, Schwert I think it was? That airship is a big threat."

Honestly, he wished he could get them both.

If it was impossible, then he wanted to obtain even one of them, but currently both objects were in Rudel's possession.

For Randolf, who had to negotiate with Rudel in the future, this would make negotiation difficult.

Sara spoke to her father in a tone of absolute honesty.

"Father you will understand when you meet Rudel!"

Sara's words made Randolf's eyes narrow in anger.

"I won't tell you to forget about Rudel. But don't forget that you are currently putting your house to shame by helping an unknown foreigner. Listen to me, Sara... Rudel is dead. Almost a decade ago we buried him."

(Strange that she should be so obsessed.)

Sara bit her lower lip and clenched her hands to hold back tears.

"... I know better than anyone... but... when you meet Rudel-kun, you'll realize why I decided to help him."

He thought his daughter had matured into a worthy lady.

But looking at what had happened this time, as expected, it seemed she had been forcing herself a bit.

"Sara, right now the most important thing is to deal with that foreigner. If you managed to find out anything about him that would be useful for me to negotiate with, I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me."

"... Just talk to him and you won't need anything else to get to know him."

"..."

"Also, Romeo's back from university, you should go say hello to him."

"I know."

"You can go."

Randolf sighed deeply after Sara left the office.

He put his elbows on the table and crossed his arms to put his forehead there.

"There's been nothing but trouble in my life since that day."

After saying that, he pulled a locked drawer and took a picture out of it.

There was the image of two people there, the picture was in black and white, but the silhouettes were clear. One of them was Sara as a child and the other was a young man with black hair.

That young man, his name was Rudel, he was a knight of Rosenberg Household whom the current boss himself, wanted to marry his daughter, but he passed away years ago.

"... Rudel, if only... you were still here, I think my life and my daughter's would not be so dark."

Randolf was crying.

"I've made bad decisions in my life, but without a doubt the one that day and yours have affected this family the most."

Pain was etched on Randolf's face.

This man was the cruel villain who wanted to destroy Aster according to the plot of the game.

Randolf stopped crying and put the photo away, wiped away his tears and went back to reviewing the documents.

"In a little while I will meet Count Bradford. I can't allow a brat from overseas to want to extort money from us."

◇◇◇

The place of the negotiation with Rudel was in the temple under one of the roots of the sacred tree.

Randolf could not hide his surprise.

Linus, who was standing next to him, was worried about him.

"Acting Chairman, is something wrong?"

"N-No, it's nothing."

He said that as he came to understand the reason why Sara was lending so much help to someone from the kingdom.

This Rudel's appearance was exactly how he looked in his teenage years.

He was a young man with black hair and eyes, and a glib appearance that looked like it could be found anywhere, but his air of self-importance and self-centeredness reminded him of that knight.

There were so many similarities, but Rudel himself was acting cheeky towards them as he held the vial of the sacred tree sapling in one hand and with the other he flicked out a snot.

"Hey, what did you say?"

Randy's face was flushed. Rudel was asking him provocatively in a mocking tone.

"Don't make me say it more than once! I'm saying that the Herring Household has received enormous damage because your airship was razing it to the ground. I demand that you pay compensation for those damages! I will protest against the kingdom if you don't!"

"Huh, I don't speak pig language, sorry~?"

While smiling, Randy had a bright red face.

It seems he can't accept the fact that he was defeated. It's not exactly a defeat. Derrick's unhinged entourage went crazy.

The Supreme Kingdom is trying to pull him off. The reason is that it can be treated as a conflict between relatives externally.

He acted as if the heads of the six great nobles gathered here were a bunch of spoiled children like him.

The other heads also seemed irritated. But they were wary of Rudel, who was in possession of the sapling of the sacred tree.

(Did he hear anything about Sara's sacred tree sapling?)

Rudel did not seem the least bit nervous in front of them, who possessed the divine protection of the sacred tree.

(Was his attitude based on ignorance, or was it because he was fully aware of his circumstance?) Randolf couldn't decide which was the case here.

Rudel asked them with the vial in his hand and a childish tone.

"By the way, you seem to be asking me to take responsibility, but are you really okay with that?"

"It was obviously your fault!"

"Herring-dono, we should also listen to what you have to say. Now, Count Bradford, what do you mean it's out of line for us to ask you to take responsibility?"

Randolf shushed Randy, otherwise the negotiation would not move forward.

"Do you need to ask? We were tricked into accepting the oath of this sacred tree and our crown prince received a cursed mark. What, moreover, my airship was stolen, and Derrick, who did all that and even went crazy with the ship, was not blamed. Now, why should I be the one to take the responsibility? Even though I was the one who stopped Schwert's rampage. This is what you called returning evil for good. Or is it that they have no values or morals at Aster?"

Rudel complained incessantly, but he was grinning like a fool the whole time.

He didn't know what this young man was thinking inside.

"Well, let's drop the public pretense. If you guys are making this all my responsibility, then that means you're ready for consequences, right?"

"Consequences you say!!!?"

Randy brought the conversation to a halt, so the other heads looked at him to silence him.

Rudel gave a wicked grin as he continued his words.

"You experienced an overwhelming defeat facing only a single ship of the kingdom. If you hold Derrick responsible for this, then it will only end up as an embarrassing incident between you, but if you hold me responsible for this, won't that mean the end of your myth of invincibility? The record of being undefeated in a defensive battle will end here!

It was Linus who reacted calmly to that statement.

"I wonder if it will. Actually, you didn't fight at all at that time, and the battle wasn't concluded either. It was stopped in the middle. That battle was more like a draw. So, from our point of view, you never defeated us. Mr. Hero."

Rudel brought his gaze towards the proud Linus and showed a serious expression of someone who had seen through him.

(Hoo~ so this guy is Linus, one of the capture targets. Erselica said he was a nice big brother and a beloved character. But he seems to be the type who won't admit defeat.)

(If I compare him to my former life. He would be the type of gerent who would blame it on someone else rather than admit it was his own.)

"Then feel free to hold me accountable. It will be the end for you at that point. how many ships were taken down by a single ship? Was there even one of your ships that managed to scratch Schwert? Besides, who said the kingdom only has one Schwert class?

Linus tried to lighten the mood.

"Don't you think that for a child you're very haughty, Mr. Hero? Oh is it that all the young men in the kingdom are just like you?"

"Do you think so? If that were so, then Herring Household would have become a sea of fire at that moment, hehehe."

"Mr. Hero seems like someone of little patience doesn't he?"

Randolf briefly glanced at Randy, who was clenching his hands in frustration, before taking Linus' place in the negotiations with Rudel.

"I see what you mean, and what do you demand of us?"

"Some up-front compensation. If you cannot prepare money, then I agree to accept products. I will report what happened this time as a simple dispute between you, so you must also include a formal apology. along with compensation for the damage we received in this incident."

"I see."

Cliff pounded his fist on the table.

The emblem of one of the six great nobles is floating on the back of his right hand.

"Who the hell does this brat think he is to want to extort money from us! I can't take it anymore! And even more so from you Randolf-dono, how can you listen to everything he says without filing a complaint?"

Randy backed Cliff up.

"This bastard's been saying whatever he wants just because I've kept quiet! We've never lost to the kingdom or any country until now!

Rudel lifted the sapling and moved it to a position where it can fall to the ground. Cliff's coat of arms lost the light and sat up.

Rudel flashed them a smile that only Derrick had seen, his tone also changed to a dark one.

"So,,, do you want to fight? I have no problem with it."

"Banfield Household was responsible for wiping out all of Aster's enemies personally, do you think I'm afraid of a brat! Put the sapling down and we'll settle this like men."

Rudel's smile grew even darker.

"I have no problem fighting the entire combined Aster fleet in person. Better yet, why don't we start a war game between you and I. Since I represented my country, it would be a very good opportunity to show you the power of the Altfode Kingdom."

Cliff smiled as if it was a very easy bet to win.

"If that's what you want I-"

"Victory is mine with no need to initiate."

Cliff didn't understand what Rudel said, until he pointed to the window.

They all turned to look and were amazed to see a thing impossible to believe.

"My private escort came by a few seconds ago, so, if you want to fight me, let me tell you I'm more than ready to burn your whole house down, pig's house too."

Battler was waving at them with a rifle from a distant position. Randolf was the one who interrupted this discussion.

"Let's all calm down, please count, calm down, we want to negotiate this peacefully."

Rudel was still smiling sinisterly as he played with the sapling in his hand.

"I have no problem with starting a war between you and me, but you should remember that you are only undefeated in defensive battle. If you guys put the responsibility on me, I guess you will also get a black mark on your defensive battle record. Your legend of invincibility will end with this!"

The heads' expressions turned bitter upon hearing those words.

If it was known that they lost to the kingdom, other countries would also despise them.

The demerit of such a thing would be immense.

Moreover, now that there was the possibility of other countries developing powerful airships, they would no longer be able to try to solve their problem easily through war.

Randolf considered the incident this time as a good opportunity.

(Hmm, not bad. Rather, this is convenient for me.)

"Very well. Aster will prepare monetary compensation for you."

Linus protested to Randolf, who readily agreed to the conditions.

"Acting Chairman, do you plan to accept his demand?!"

It was a bad decision as Acting Chairman, but personally Randolf wanted to make good use of the incident this time. For the sake of his own goal.

"The blame for the incident this time lies with the Herring Household more than anyone else. Aster sincerely apologizes. I will take away some of the power that the Herring Household wields over the supreme kingdom and let's also prepare generous compensation for you and the kingdom. In return, I would like you to hand over the sapling to us."

"I refuse. I will not enter this little one to you as you might back out and perhaps even send assassins after us. We also want to stay here to study until the year is over, only then can I return this thing to you. Don't worry, I'll take good care of it."

Cliff showed an expression of wanting to punch Rudel, as for Randy he looked at the table after hearing that his house has lost power and influence.

"All right."

But, Randolf apologized to his daughter inside his heart.

(Sara, you must have felt that way too.)

The image of the knight who once served him was superimposed with Rudel in front of him. He regretted a little that it softened him in dealing with a rude foreigner.

He couldn't criticize his daughter like that.

Rudel was shocked, his wicked grin replaced by an idiotic face he made.

"Hey, are you guys really going to accept my terms just like that? And that I was planning to extort a little more from all of you..."

He looked like he didn't expect all her demands to be accepted.

"Are you surprised?"

"... Well, yes."

Seeing that Rudel's insolent attitude had just disappeared, Randolf thought that this might be the boy's normal attitude towards him.

"We have put you through an unpleasant experience while you were studying here. My apologies. Also, this is just a suggestion from me as an individual, but..."

◇◇◇

Linus approached Randolf after the negotiation with Rudel.

"Acting Chairman, the kingdom will become bold with this- please think again!"

Linus was young and extremely capable, but he had a strong patriotic feeling.

That was why he was sensitive on the matter that brought disadvantage to his homeland.

"We should close our eyes to this small loss. We have just obtained a good opportunity to reform our conscience."

"Conscience?"

"The thought that we will always be prosperous by relying on the sacred tree is outdated."

Linus was shocked.

"Acting Chairman, isn't your statement now too controversial?"

"What's controversial about it? The evaluation of foreign countries towards Aster who has been completely relying on the sacred tree while despising them is terrible. At the same time, our sense of danger towards foreign countries is too careless."

Linus also seemed to have some idea of what Randolf was saying. He couldn't respond."

"He seems to be inviting that person to his mansion, but will he be alright? He's a man who would fight even the us in person."

"He is in possession of the sapling of the sacred tree. I wish to have another angle where we can negotiate with him."

"That is certainly necessary, but you don't have to be the one to personally deal with that, do you?"

"I am also personally interested in the kingdom's technology."

He listed several reasons, but personally he wanted to talk to Rudel.

(It keeps popping into my mind even though I know it's not that Rudel. Is it because the two of them are that similar even in personality?)

◇

I was invited to come to the Rosenberg Household mansion several days after the negotiation.

Reparations to me were paid immediately while Aster also held negotiations with the Altfode Kingdom between the official servants of both countries. It would be funny if Leonis shouldered all the hard work for that, so I didn't touch that side at all.

Rosenberg Household went so far as to prepare an airship to take me to their territory, to their fortress on their floating island for a dinner.

It was a fortress city. It had a different atmosphere from the old Vermillion territory.

"This place looks like it belongs to the king of a country."

I muttered that under my breath. Ixion, who was camouflaging himself, whispered in my ear.

"Master, I think the risk of assassination is low, even so, don't let your guard down."

"I know."

Ixion was going around to investigate the huge castle while waiting in the waiting room.

He thoroughly investigated various things such as whether the food to be served was poisoned or not. The result looked like I was actually invited just for a dinner.

"Are you trying to conquer me because they want the sapling of the sacred tree? Maybe I would accept if you were offering me beautiful women, but I already have fiancées."

"... That's very likely. It seems that they are also considering technology exchange. However, the situation seems strange even despite that."

"Strange, is there some kind of problem?"

"The servants who saw the Master's face seemed to be agitated. Many of the senior servants are especially nervous."

The servant who showed me around was also like that.

It looked really surprised.

Sara also looked surprised when we met. At that time, she asked me "Call me Sara-chan" or something like that.

Is she someone with that kind of hobby?

Could it be that I only come across women who are perverts at heart?

If she told me she wanted to be my older sister, I would take out those two idiot older brothers of mine for her.

Just remembering how those idiots forced me to work in their place makes me happy I found Ixion.

A servant came to inform me that the preparation was finished while I was talking to Ixion.

◇

Inside a room with a very high ceiling.

I was having dinner with three other people around a big table. It was a really strange feeling to eat like that.

There were waiting servants around us. They would help us with our dinner.

Randolf was sitting right in front of me. Sara and his wife Marian, a woman who is the spitting image of his daughter, but with a regular chest, were sitting next to him.

They were both wearing elegant dresses.

The atmosphere of the dinner was really like the dinner of important nobles- no, even a royal family dinner it seemed.

The dishes had cooled a bit, but they were still delicious.

"Do the dishes suit your taste?"

Randolf asked me. I spoke of my impression without any flattery.

"They are delicious. The sauce is different from what we have in the kingdom, but I like this strange taste."

The seasoning of the food changes from country to country, but I could eat without any problem.

The soft meat was accompanied by a type of vegetable that could not be found in the kingdom.

It reminded me a lot of broccoli, but tasted like sour parsley.

When I tried to eat it, my face unintentionally showed an expression of disgust.

I could eat it, but it wasn't something I wanted to eat on my own initiative. Even if I grew them myself.

I forced myself a little to put it in my mouth along with some meat to cover the taste.

But then I noticed the three in front of me staring at me.

"Uh, Emm... I apologize, is my eating bad or something?"

"N-No, it's not that, maybe you dislike that vegetable?"

He seemed to have sensed it because of my expression.

"It's a vegetable I've never eaten in the kingdom before. I don't like its peculiar bitterness, but I can still eat it well."

Sara shed a tear.

She wiped it away as she apologized.

"I-I'm sorry, but what exactly is going on here?"

Randolf sighed before speaking.

"A long time ago, when I wasn't yet head of the house and my mother was."

"Huh, your mother was head of the house? Wasn't it that only a male could inherit the title?"

"That's usually the case, but only when there are no other relatives of the main lineage. That is, my uncles passed away so only my mother was available."

This certainly comes as a surprise.

"So that the main house lineage does not become extinct. It is that we use the middle names. The name of the chief of that time passes on to his children. Since my mother was the previous head of the Rosenberg Household, that's the reason we use her name. That's also how we identify our relatives from other houses."

"I see, you can tell it must have been quite a surprise."

"Needless to say, the other houses thought we would weaken just because a male wasn't the head, to their misfortune, my mother was a capable woman in her own right."

Certainly amazing that and even more so in a non matriarchal house.

"I understand, but what does that have to do with me?"

"Here I go. When I was young and helping my mother to prepare me as the next chief, one day a man came to our territory. He spoke a foreign language."

"Originally we were going to deport him, but the man said he was expelled from his country. That was an obvious farce just to see how he acted."

I really don't understand what that has to do with me.

"As time went on, the man was a great help to our household. We took him in out of pity, but then he became part of our knights. His name was Stewart and he said he came from Altfode Kingdom."

I expressed my surprise because of that.

"I still don't understand what it has to do with me."

"Just hold on a little longer."

"The man to be recognized by us as a citizen of Aster, he had to marry a local woman and it happened. They had a child, but the woman passed away after childbirth."

"Years later, that man also passed away and asked me to take care of his child as if it were my own. I was reluctant to care for a servant's child, but that man supported us until the day he died, I would feel bad if I didn't."

Randolf pulled something out of his pocket, it appeared to be a photograph from my point of view.

"That boy was trouble with legs. Everything he touched he destroyed, caused discomfort to the other nobles and even drank my personal wine the cheeky bugger."

"Sometimes I wanted to hang him myself."

Randolf actually made an expression of hanging someone, his wife and daughter joined him in his recollection of the past.

"I remember that day, you were chasing him with his own sword."

"Worst of all, the very scoundrel hid in my room while I slept. Truly, Rudel was a pain in the ass."

It was there that I was speechless. They seemed to notice and Randolf continued.

"That's right, that troublesome young man was a knight serving our house and like you, his name was Rudel and his father hailed from Altfode Kingdom."

Randolf stretched out his hand to show me the photograph, my eyes widened at what I could not believe I was seeing.

In a black and white garden, there stood a little girl who was Sara. And a young man in armor at her side. That young man looked exactly like me, only with a slight beard that reminded me of my dad.

Wait, he looks like me... he came from the kingdom and his beard reminds me of my dad.

I heard once in my previous life that someone said "Coincidences don't exist".

My dad once told me that he had a brother who ran away in a boat so he wouldn't be in charge of the territory. He gave him up for dead as it was impossible for him to still be alive.

Yes... there is a possibility that my uncle managed to survive and made it this far. It wouldn't be strange if the person in this photograph is actually my cousin.

"They say there is a person exactly like you somewhere in the world."

If that were true, would there perhaps be a reason why the original "Rudel" of this world passed away as well?

With that, you could say that two "Rudels" have died.

I am getting scared. This is really creepy.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but it was because you really look like him. Even the way you behave."

"I-I understand. I think I'd act the same way if I were in your position."

I handed the picture back to Randolf.

"But, still, the resemblance is uncanny. All it would take is for Sara to propose to him too, hahaha."

Sara blushed and opened her mouth in a W shape as her parents laughed.

"Dad, how dare you tell her that!"

"What? It's obvious you helped him since he reminds you of your first love. It's true, Count, you should know that this girl was deeply in love with our Rudel when she was a child."

My mouth dropped open in surprise. I think I now understand the reason she asked me to call her that.

Deep down, Sara is another big girl like Alisa. She wants to be spoiled despite behaving like an adult.

"She would even say things like. 'I will make you recognize me as your wife one day' or. 'My breasts will be very big so you won't have to go after the women in the village,' things like that this little girl would say, hahaha."

Sara was embarrassed as her parents laughed.

This man- this family is the one that was originally supposed to be cruel villains who wanted to destroy their own country?

Maybe... is it the same situation as with Alisa and Klein? A mistake of a lousy plot or that in truth things are not as they are shown.

Before me I see a completely normal family.

Sara suddenly dropped her embarrassment and stood up abruptly from the table.

"It's true! That boy hasn't come down even though I told him to, Rudel-kun excuse me. Mom, Dad, I'll go get Romeo."

(Romeo, one of the targets who has a lot of information and was supposed to rat out his cruel family.)

I looked at Randolf as he had a tired look on his face.

"Maybe you haven't slept well?"

"It's because of work."

"If you don't mind, would you like me to hand you some pills that help relax the body? You'll be able to get plenty of sleep with just one and you'll feel as good as new, but rest is important."

"Do you have anything like that? I appreciate it."

Randolf reminded me a bit of when I was working several hours of overtime and wanted to stay awake.

This man is really hardworking.

◇◇◇

Sara walked down a long hallway to a room.

She knocked lightly on the door.

"Romeo, I told you we'd have a guest, come down and say hello at least."

There was no answer.

Sara knocked hard on the door this time.

The knob turned slightly and in a dark room, lit by a magic lamp, an eye peeked out.

"... What do you want sister?"

"What do you mean what do I want? Do me a favor and come down to say hello, if only you would stay studying in your room again."

The eye looked very coldly at Sara.

"Get lost."

The door slammed sharply in her face.

"Romeo! Romeo, don't be like that! Open the door! Romeo!"

Behind the door stood a boy similar to Sara, but his hair and eyes were different.

He grabs his head while his face showed a pained expression.

"... Let me study in peace, why doesn't anyone understand, I want to be alone to study in peace!"

◇

"How nice, you went to have an extravagant dinner by yourself, I'm jealous~!"

When I returned, Erselica greeted me with undisguised jealousy.

Several weeks had passed since I intruded into Erselica's mansion.

My days here were filled with much ado.

"I didn't go to play, you know."

"But, the food was luxurious right?"

"They were delicious~"

Erselica bit her handkerchief with a frustrated look when I told her my impression.

That's why I handed her the cake I brought as a souvenir.

"Here, a gift."

"Wai~, I love you, brother."

It was easy to handle Erselica seeing her mood light up like that just by giving her cake.

I didn't want to believe how there were five idiots who loved this woman and would give up their inheritance and house for her.

I walked into an empty room with Erselica, who was holding the cake and made tea.

"Where's Ixion?"

"He's repairing Schwert. Ixion's main body is coming over to this side, so he'll be done in several days."

Ixion also mentioned about Battler's overhaul.

Apparently he would remove the sharp decorations and clean up the cockpit that had been used by Derrick.

Schwert was also only dirty inside, so instead of calling it a repair, it would mainly be cleaning and refueling the ship.

"Wasn't his main body here before?"

"Before this it floated in the middle of Aster and Altfode to act as a relief. But the main body was sent here because of the problems that occurred on this side. Thanks to that now I can't send mails to Alisa and Airi either."

At this time I could not send any mails because the communication signal was extremely bad.

I wondered if they were both ok now?

Erselica brought out the cake with her eyes shining.

"This looks delicious!"

"Don't eat it all. There's also a part for the others."

"I know."

Erselica took out the cake and waited for me to prepare the tea while she talked about the plan she would follow.

"By the way, how was the conversation?"

"It's going too well that I'm scared instead. Everyone at the Rosenberg Household took a liking to me."

To think they had a dead servant who looked exactly like me. I still couldn't believe it.

"Will it be all right? They're the last boss."

"I'll be on guard."

(I don't think they'll be hostile, though.)

I finished preparing the tea and enjoyed the cake together with Erselica.

I watched her eat the cake as I pulled out some cash that was inside a brown envelope from my breast pocket.

"Erselica, another gift."

Erselica's eyes widened the instant she saw the money.

Her excitement overcame her enthusiasm for the cake.

"B-Brother, this is it!"

"This is because I managed to extort a lot from Aster. Well, this is money for your needs.

Erselica had also worked hard this time, so this was her reward.

I also learned something from living together with Erselica.

She's a little, no, not just a little, she was just too pitiful.

She had to take care of those five, plus she had to economize to make do with the available family budget. I couldn't hold back the tears at the sight of that.

Erselica pulled out the cash and started counting it.

"I-I-I-It's okay for me to get that much!!!?"

The amount of money I gave her was around ten million in the form of Aster's money.

But, even that amount was a bit insufficient to live in Aster while taking care of those useless people.

"You guys have worked hard this time too. Use the money carefully, okay?"

Erselica cried as she clung to me.

But she did that only after carefully putting the money in her pocket.

"Onii-chan, thank youuuuuuuuuuuuu!"

I shook Erselica, who was clinging to me.

"L-let go of me! Really, you're still a kept girl like in the past life."

Erselica wiped away her tears.

"With this I won't have to worry about money for summer clothes."

The season was going to change from spring to summer.

"Summer, huh? There will be lots of events there. For now, Diana is our candidate for priestess, but depending on the situation, Lucy might become the chosen one, so we have to be careful.

When I said that, Erselica stopped her hands counting the money she took out of her pocket.

She looked at my face and bowed her head.

"Brother, why are you considering Lucy as a priestess candidate?"

"Ha? Because Lucy is a normal girl isn't she? As far as I know Lucy, she has talked to many boys, but I'm sure that from among them maybe there is one who can become her mate. It will be hard to make events square with that guy, but with a push behind her back I think we can make it happen. I'm pretty smart, aren't I?"

Erselica stared at me.

"... Brother."

"What?"

"... How many boys have you seen that relate to Lucy?"

"Several."

"But after what happened. How many guys has she hooked up with?"

"If you take it like that, it would be with us."

"Where did she stay and who rescued her from that incident with the Cashmiro Family?"

That family was annoying, they seem to have many branches, among them other allies. I sent Ixion to destroy them with his main body so we won't have any more trouble.

"I would say, me? But what does that have to do with it?"

She looked at me with a cold stare when I said that.

"... I don't care anymore!"

"No, tell me! You're worrying me!"

Erselica put the money in her pocket once more and started eating the cake.

"It'll become troublesome, so I won't tell. Besides, you'd better think properly about what to do now. Something that can't be undone will happen if you keep living with Lucy like this."

"Something that can't be undone you say?"

"That's why virgins are the worst. They never take hints."

"Don't tell me what, you're thinking I'm going to fall in love with Lucy? Hahaha. Too bad. I have two wonderful fiancées waiting for me at home. I won't do something like cheat on them."

Erselica scoffed at me.

"I wish you the best on that one. I don't like trouble after all, and even more so from super dense guys like you."

What is it with this girl?

What did she mean?

Hey, Erselica, what the hell are you trying to imply?

I don't understand what you're talking about? I love my girlfriends, I would never cheat on them.