A new day has arrived and that means only one thing.
Today is the beginning of the last semester of the school year.
Therefore, it means that it is time for several important events.
Among them the final boss event.
Calvin will attack the Kingdom when everyone is celebrating.
Fortunately, we will be on our guard for that moment to give him a quick comeback and finish him off.
But for now let's enjoy the experience gathering events as romantic events.
Oh, that's right.
I can't!
I'm a goddamn magic stone!
Worst of all, thanks to us avoiding the pandemic, many harem members don't exist because they live with their happy families and also because there's no status screen to know how my parameters are doing.
Well, Rei can use a status panel, but only to check a person's personal information, the scary thing is, if you try to edit something and accept the edit, that person's head will explode.
Scary to think about that.
Just now, while I was having my usual frustrated thoughts of what to do if I had legs and arms.
Rei woke up.
"Good morning."
"... Good morning."
It's been a month since then and this boy is still just as depressed.
It's really sad to see him like this. I mean, isn't it weird to run into someone who thought he was the best of the best and now he's just a shadow of what he once was?
I feel philosophical, but no one can hear me.
Rei got up and went to perform his basic needs.
After finishing changing into his uniform, he went to breakfast.
There he found Rose as Eli at the table.
His parents feeding each other their food and the head butler Walter, a commoner with long light blue hair like his eyes and glasses.
Walter greeted Rei.
"Good morning my lord. Your breakfast I will prepare at once."
"... That's fine."
To the whole mansion, the current Rei's attitude was very strange.
But it seemed better this way to them.
They could work without him walking around messing everything up or when he wrecked things around here.
They are horrible servants.
"Rose, do you have everything for before we leave?"
"I have it Eli."
"Good, we'll go for a walk around the grounds before we leave."
Apparently the girls will go for a walk before they go to class.
It's a good thing they're getting along.
Oriana, on the other hand, was out trying to catch birds.
It's going to be a nice day today.
◇
Thanks to Rei, who used a portal to teleport us, we were able to avoid taking the week it would take to get to the capital.
We had our bags.
"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!"
In the distance I could hear a voice, as we all turned to see who it was.
We saw Prince Sig and Alfred who came running as they got out of their fancy carriage.
Sig hugged Eli the moment he saw her.
"Eli! I was so worried about you. You didn't send a letter once to see how you were doing."
Eli pulled his brother away from her, and affectionately said.
"Onii-sama, I'm feeling fine, you don't need to worry about me. I'm glad to see you too."
"Good morning Eli-chan. Rose, and duke too."
Alfred introduced himself amicably.
Rose returned his greeting, but Rei only ducked his head in greeting.
Seeing him like that, Sig asked his sister.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Well... it's hard to explain. But he's just going through a stage right now so you have to be patient with him."
"I understand."
With that said, we all went inside.
◇
At the end of the entrance ceremony, we bumped into Isaac and Oliver.
They came to greet us.
"Oh, Rei, Rose. It's good to see you safe and sound."
"Same here."
"... Good morning."
The boys looked strange as Rei greeted them in a passive manner.
Rose walked over to tell them a little about their situation.
"I see. I guess it's understandable your situation then."
Isaac exclaimed as Oliver sighed in disappointment.
"Tch. I thought Rei would be participating in the tournament."
"Well, we have one more year left together so I'm sure we'll be able to fight there."
"You're right."
Isaac said backing Oliver up.
As all the students were finishing their conversation to go to their respective classrooms, in the distance I could see Sasha looking at us.
She would be surrounded by her entourage.
But she wasn't accompanied by anyone.
After sighing a little she left.
We all headed to our classrooms.
◇
The days passed quickly after entering classes.
The month of October was soon to be over.
And soon the magic sword tournament was coming.
The students are practicing hard.
Except Rei.
He was in the training center wielding his wooden sword because it was self-defense class.
After pretending to practice he went to sit down.
"Are you still depressed? It's been months since that."
This boy's depressed attitude is starting to bother me.
I understand that depression is a very sensitive psychological state for the human psyche.
But don't fuck with me Rei. You spend all day staring with a blank stare at the point where you pay attention in class and your grades improve.
Wait, that's good for sure.
But I don't want that!
I'm tied to you all day, I don't want to see you sighing every five minutes.
Suddenly, he stood up and went to the boys' bathroom.
When he got there, he heard some voices.
"May I know why on earth you didn't bring me the dessert I asked for?"
Rei peeked out and there we could see a group of girls bullying one smaller than them.
The same girl with the gathered braid we ran into last semester, Finne Bartolt was her name I think.
She was clutching the uniform of a girl with dark brown bob cut hair, which hid her eyes.
But I could tell a little bit that they were peeking out and they were light orange.
Now I remember this girl.
Her name is Zoey Bluegarden, the daughter of a viscount with no territory named Harold, who has been doing business with Rei for years.
Zoey was terrified of Finne.
"I-I'm so sorry Finne-sama. But the dessert you asked for they can't make it since it's only once a month they make it."
"So? I want my pumpkin pie with oranges dipped in goat's milk-I don't care if it's expensive for the academy!"
Finne's reasoning was ridiculous.
For, if she wanted her dessert and didn't really care about the costs. She could go buy it herself in town.
But... seeing as she was taking it out on Zoey, it meant she was just looking to annoy her.
He used a trivial excuse to humiliate and ridicule her, he never cared about dessert.
Finne threw Zoey to the ground and put her foot on her head.
"Not only have you starved me to death. You also dare not do my bidding."
"Do you want me to tell my uncle to visit your father's business?"
"I have no problem with that."
Finne threatened Zoey, who prostrated herself before her and hugged her foot.
"I-I'm so sorry. I-I'll go right now and get one."
"I don't want to. There isn't one you can get anyway."
"Here you go."
Unbeknownst to me, Rei approached with a cake in her hand.
Apparently she brought it from a dessert store in town.
Hey, you paid for that right?
He bestowed the cake on her, Finne recognized Rei.
"Y-You're the one from that time."
Earlier in the semester, she was attacked by insects that Rei summoned.
Finne eyed Rei aggressively, but Rei's expression didn't change.
"What are you waiting for? Take it at once."
Rei said with her arms outstretched holding the cake.
Finne snapped her mouth and said to her minions.
"Let's get out of here."
Off they went.
Rei commented.
"So they made me take the cake out for kicks?"
(Did you really expect to give it to them?)
(What's wrong with this guy?)
Rei vanished the cake returning it to its place, then approached Zoey.
"Are you okay?"
She asked her casually.
Zoey looked at Rei and thanked her.
"Th-thank you very much."
"But it's useless for you to try to help me."
"Why do you say that?"
Rei asked intrigued by her answer.
Zoey looked down at the floor as she dusted herself off,
"Her family knows my father's business is doing well. And they want their share of the profits."
"Their share?"
Rei asked the same question I would ask in her place.
The answer made me angry to the point that, if I had a face, I would be red as a tomato from anger.
"They say that a merchant doing well is because of their advice and protection. Therefore, they want a cut, half of the profits for your help."
(What the hell are you talking about?)
(What help did those guys give Harold?)
(I've been seeing him all these years we've been doing business and at no time did anybody with that last name ever come in.)
(These guys are just leeches who prey on others through intimidation and brute force.)
I made up my mind.
"Rei! From today onwards the Bartolt family is our enemy."
"I won't let them get away with it!"
I have no memory of that family, but it doesn't matter, they're my enemy now!
I clenched my invisible fist in a sign to "show" my anger.
I looked at Zoey who was glaring at Rei with intensity.
"What's wrong?"
He asked.
"Why are you helping me?"
"It's the third time you've done it, what's in it for you?"
A sincere and intelligent question.
How would Rei answer?
"I simply wanted to do it. There's nothing special about it, ah, I also consider you're pretty. I like your hair like that, that must be why."
Zoey was petrified at being called pretty.
Hadn't she been told that?
Well, considering that this world is that of a man's game, it's normal for women who are targets for capture to not be related in any way to other men.
It makes me feel ridiculous to say that, but never mind.
Zoey looked at Rei with intensity, her eyes shining so brightly they looked like pearls.
Then.
"Well."
Rei turned around.
"I'm going to my place now."
He walked off, leaving Zoey behind.
◇
I was speechless seeing Rei like that.
"R-Rei. You're seriously just leaving like that?"
"Really?"
He said some unexpected words to me.
"Wait and see."
"...?"
I wondered what he meant.
When Zoey called out to us from behind.
Rei turned around and she was running towards us.
I asked him again.
"Why did you think I would come after you?"
Despite having the same depressed face as always, his thoughts were different.
"I said I thought her hair looked pretty, I want her by my side."
I'm not going to say "Just because of that!". Since that would be truly stupid to say.
Zoey looked tired after catching up.
"S-sorry for following you."
"But, are you serious?"
"Do you think I look pretty?"
(Wait? Is that really happening?)
(I never imagined that something like this would really happen.)
(No, wait. This is real, so now that I see it I'm really embarrassed that it's happening.)
◇◇◇
Why did Zoey approach Rei if she barely knows him?
That can be explained by knowing her.
Zoey, as a child, was the daughter of a commoner family.
Her parents were farmers, therefore, her future would be the same.
But, there was something they didn't count on.
It turns out that Zoey, in addition to possessing magical power being the daughter of peasants.
She was a very smart girl.
At her young age of six, she had built a small water dam to bring water from a river to her home. It took time, but she succeeded because she wanted to help the animals that were thirsty.
Thanks to her father they managed to dig a hole that led to the vegetable field, so the river water would not remain stagnant in one place for germs and bacterium to concentrate there, the water would come out as a sprinkler directly to the vegetables.
Thanks to a strainer he tied there, their problems of buying water with money they don't have were solved.
The other neighbors saw this with envy, and Zoey wanted to help them so that they would also have free water for their animals.
But they were too ignorant and destroyed what Zoey did.
Sometime later, she planted seeds of different types, by weather she could identify which ones could survive in a dry, cold or wet environment without sunlight.
She used the money she earned helping her father to buy those seeds.
It was her way of helping out at home, but her father considered it a waste to grow anything other than pumpkins, so it was a waste of money.
He destroyed the vegetables as they began to sprout.
When she turned seven, a big-bellied gentleman with a funny mustache, Harold Bluegarden came to do business with them.
But they were too ignorant, no one bought anything from him.
Then... he found Zoey using wind magic to shear sheep.
In a gentle way and not rough like her father does.
Seeing a girl who knew how to treat animals, and then seeing her feeding them on a shelf that protects their food from insects and the sun. Which was made with materials from the garbage to save money.
He knew this girl had potential.
He talked to her family to see if he could become her teacher and teach her about sales.
A talent like hers to provide objects that animals need could also do it with humans.
But the answer her parents gave made them see the kind of people they are.
Harold opted for the wise decision to adopt their daughter.
For a modest sum of 10 gold coins he paid to transfer all authority to him.
Zoey's parents accepted by getting rid of their daughter.
Zoey was sad about it, but as she spent time with Harold, she learned that it was the best decision of all.
Through living with him, she learned about finances, economics and, above all, taking advantage of opportunities.
It is for that reason that Zoey, knowing that she is lying Rei with telling him that she is pretty.
She will take advantage of the situation to get rid of Finne and stop him from bothering her.
After that...
(I'll reject him. I'll tell him that I liked spending time with him, but we can't be together since I don't think I'm good enough for you.)
(Yes, I will do that.)
"I-If you really think that about me. T-Then I would like to be your girlfriend."
"Okay."
(That was fast!)
Zoey nodded, walked over to Rei and grabbed her sleeve.
"I-I'd like to be your girlfriend."
"Actually you're the third. Wait, Eli's the first isn't she? Fiancées are considered girlfriend's despite being engaged to one?"
Hearing that Rei had more than one girlfriend, Zoey thought.
(Huhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!)
(You've got more girls behind you!)
◇◇◇
"Everything looks so quiet."
In a room at the academy reserved for visitors or tea.
Sasha was there hanging out.
Normally, she would be surrounded by her friends(entourage) but because of what happened with the bank, she is no longer with anyone.
The room was decorated with the best of the best.
But only one person occupied it.
Sasha did not feel lonely as she sought that.
So she took advantage of this time to study.
She was studying the current situation in the republic.
"It seems that the peace talks with the republic are going well. If a war between the two were to break out, we would be frightened since we are in the middle of the way of both."
Sasha took a sip of her cup of tea to her mouth.
"For some reason. Silence bothers me too much."
◇◇◇
After Finne left the place where Rei was.
He went straight to see someone while muttering.
"I'm still mad at that guy. I can't forgive him after what he did to me back then."
Finne was a spoiled girl.
In her family, or to be exact for Bartolt Household. Whatever they say is absolute.
Therefore, if she says die.
You must die.
If she wants you to kill someone, you kill them.
If she wants you to steal, it doesn't matter what happens to you.
The Bartolt family was raised with that mentality of being the ones who rule in the shadows.
Even wanting the king's job.
After all. That family are secret enemies of the game.
From the first to the last year, the Bartolts were worse threats than the Calvinists or the cult.
They even made deals with the empire to destroy the country.
Finne was a crucial enemy towards Eli during the second year at the beach event when he tried to kill her.
He came to a person's room.
"Hey, open the door."
He knocked loudly on the door.
It opened and there peeked out an attractive young man with long hair to the side and bright eyes.
"What's wrong Finnese?"
"Don't call me that, big brother."
"I have a favor to ask of you."
This young man was Finne's cousin, one of the sons of the current head.
Bertram Bartolt.
"What favor do you want?"
Finne smiled sinisterly.
"I want you to kill a bastard in the tournament. I'm sure you can pull it off with your connections."
"That's fine. I'm only doing it because you're my cute cousin."
The plan to kill Rei began.
________________
I leave Finne's face because she is a tiny character with a role to fulfill, by the way, she would be the 2.0 of the Rossini's daughter from my novel Ixion. Only with a more minuscule but more important role: https://mobuseka.fandom.com/wiki/Stephanie_Fou_Offrey