3 Chapter 3

"Lucas!"

"Oh, you're back. How did it go?"

"My father asked me to bring you to him."

"Which means, he wants to test my capabilities?"

"Exactly."

"Ah, okay, no problem."

"Then, let's go."

* * *

"Father, I brought him here."

"Nice to meet you, Duke Valentine."

"You must be the person my daughter wants to recommend."

"Yes."

"Father, this is Lucas!"

"It's nice to meet you too, Lucas."

"So, father, how are you going to test him?"

"I suppose we should call over a mage to measure his mana."

"The head mage?"

"Yes. Emma, please contact Callis."

"Yes, duke."

* * *

"You are... Lucas?"

"Yes, head magician."

"Alice-sama, where did you find him?"

"He's... my friend! Yeah! He's a friend."

The head mage must currently be shocked since Lucas's mana and magic is even better than Leon's magic.

"Hmm, he has a lot of mana, and his magic proficiency is excellent, it surpasses the level of the head mage of the magic tower."

Well, that's a given isn't it? He is one of those people who handles souls after all.

"Alice-sama, would it be possible to take him as my disciple?"

Ugh, he's asking with those shining eyes which is making it hard to refuse. But, I can't give Lucas to him.

"Lucas will be my personal mage."

"I see, that's a pity."

"But you'll probably see each other often, because he'll become a mage of this house soon."

"Really!? Hahaha, let's get along well, Lucas."

"Yes, let's get along."

"Oh, father, he is the son of Earl Otar."

"The son of Earl Otar?"

"Yes."

"I see, so, he is your friend?"

"Yes, he is my friend."

"Then, Lucas, you wish to work as a mage?"

"Yes, I want to be a mage."

"Alright, you'll be Alice's mage then."

"Thank you, father!"

"Lucas, do you want to live here?"

"That's fine with me."

"Alright then, I'll arrange a room for you."

"Thank you, Duke."

* * *

"Lucas."

"...what is it?"

"So, you're Lucas Vincent Otar?"

"Yes, how many more times do I have to say it?"

"I mean, why are you helping me anyway?"

"Because..."

"...?"

"Nevermind."

"W-what! Hey, answer me."

"Nope."

"..."

"Anyways, you should remember about the game now."

"Oh, right. So, according to my memories, this game is called 'Rosewood Academy'. In the academy, noble children and commoners with talents will enroll into the academy at 12."

"Yeah."

"Wait..."

"What?"

"How old am I right now?"

"You're probably the same age as me, so, you're 8."

"...?! Then I've got only 4 years left!?"

Bang

I slammed the table in front of me.

"Yeah."

"Ughhh... Then, it's around the time I meet the crown prince. No, I already met him."

"Hmm."

"Arghh, I didn't do anything bad, right? Like, bothering him or something."

"You did. You kept on clinging onto him. Don't you remember?"

"No I don't. My memories of that time is hazy, so I can't remember clearly."

"That's too bad."

"What's that supposedly to mean!?"

"Nothing."

Urk, wasn't he supposed to be a nicer? I mean, the Lucas in the game is extremely nice to the heroine. Why is he like this!?

Sigh

"You. You have to help me!"

"That's my plan from the start."

"Great! So, after the first meeting with Edgar, Alice would ask her father to get her engaged with the crown prince."

"Hmm."

"So, I won't ask for the engagement. ...But wouldn't we still get engaged? Since Alice is from the duke's house, which means he would marry someone from a duke's house to secure his position as the crown prince."

"Makes sense."

"And there are only two dukes in the empire."

"Hmm."

"Are you actually listening?"

"I am listening."

"Well, whatever. So, I'll give an explanation of each capture target since you'll have to use it to help me."

"Okay."

"First, Prince Edgar, he is the crown prince of the Adaline Empire. And a sadistic prince... Yeah, and he has space magic. In this case, I'll die by getting sent to nowhere."

"Hmm."

"The second capture target, Noah von Lancaster, the Lancaster house has been serving as the empire's sword for generations, so, it's a given that Noah excels in fighting. He is the 'cold-looking but kind to the people he loves' type of person. But in this route, the his sister, Lilith, would be the one to get in his way. I don't really have to worry about this route, but it's better to be cautious."

"I see."

This Lucas, he's not even listening.

"Hey, listen."

"I am."

"You aren't, you reply so half-heartedly."

"I just have nothing to say."

"...yeah, alright. You better listen."

"Yeah, yeah."

This brat. Why is he so kind to the heroine in the game but is acting like a brat?

"The third one, Leon de Archer, he would be the master of the magic tower in the future, a playboy with a cheerful personality, and very playful. Oh, I'll die by his void magic."

"You're saying it like dying isn't serious."

"It is serious. I died once, so, in this life I'll live it to the fullest! No abusive stepmother and that idiotic stepsister!"

"You sound happy."

"Of course. Alice's parents love and spoil her until she became a spoiled noble lady after all."

"Yeah, sure."

"Tsk. You never listen."

"I do listen."

'Really? It's kinda obvious that he's not paying attention to what I'm saying at all.' I stared at him for quite sometime until he spoke up.

"Alright, I'll listen. So stop starting at me like that. You're staring at me like you're looking at some trash."

He muttered something at the end, but I didn't hear it so, whatever. I'm not the type to stick my nose in other people's business.

"As I was saying, the fourth capture target, is you. Lucas Vincent Otar, so you better listen."

"Yes, I am listening."

"Haa, the game Lucas is one of the very few people who handles souls by either sending them to another body or to the underworld."

"Yeah."

"The few people who handles souls are decided since before birth, but you can either choose to be one or live your life like a normal person, yet you chose to be one."

"Hm."

"This time, I'll die by getting my soul taken and locked inside the underworld."

"I did that?"

"Yes, you."

"Urgh, that sounds bad."

Isn't that supposed to be obvious? You get your soul taken and locked up.

"Yeah. That said, you have to help me."

"How?"

"I would appreciate it if you could help me avoid them."

"Why avoid them?"

"I want to live a peaceful life, without troublesome things. Additionally, even if I don't partake in the bullying, there should be other girls out there who would gladly bully the heroine out of jealousy."

"But since you got a second chance, why don't you live a fun life? Why a peaceful life?"

"I already had enough problems in my past life."

Well, it's not that much, but still, I want a peaceful life since I finally got to live with lots of money and good food, not to mention my new family too.

"... I see."

What the... why is he looking sad? Shouldn't I be the one feeling sad right now? And look at that puppy-like face of his. That's... too cute. I quickly shifted my gaze to somewhere else so as to not stare too much at his cute face.

"Stop making that face."

"...? What face?"

"That puppy-like face of yours."

"What are you talking about?"

"Never mind."

I sighed deeply before talking again.

"Just smile."