6 Chapter 6: Nothing new here… or is it?

"Waah~ this is so delicious~!"

Olivia beamed and chirped, eating her 5th pastry. The local café near the academy was known for its delicacies. It was privately owned by one of the professors of the academy, in fact, who seemed quite passionate about his tea and snacks which were the main attractions here. Though, they did serve other sweet delicacies as well. Like the pastry Olivia was eating right now.

Olivia looked so childlike and adorable when she smiled freely. It could arouse the feeling of guardianship and adoration in men, honestly.

Olivia was a cute girl without any doubt. And together with her protagonist aura, she was definitely a force to reckon with.

And I, the supposed average mob-looking guy, was currently having a small cake and tea party with the said protagonist girl. If this were my old world, such a thing would be impossible.

"The coffee they serve is quite good too, even though they're known for their teas more. Try it out."

"Mm!"

She nodded with a spoon in her mouth and a happy face, looking like a little girl who was already lost under the effects of sugar and not even trying to act like an adult anymore. Though, in her defense, she was still a teen. Well, so was I, but I was mentally a few years older. Many years older if you combine both of my lives. But I honestly didn't feel like that mentally. My mental age seemed to have stopped increasing, maybe even digressing a little bit, due to living the life of a younger boy.

'Why is she so damn cute? And she does it without even realizing.'

Somehow, seeing this honest, innocent, and naïve girl enjoying a pastry (her 6th one now) filled my usually cold and apathetic heart with some warmth.

After we were done and she had unknowingly eaten 8 different types of pastries, I called for the bill.

"That'll be 4500 Dia."

The waitress said with a smile, but the next moment, everyone heard a gasp and the sound of the spoon dropping.

"F-F-Forty-five hundred?! T-That… I… Oh no…"

I watched as the previously jolly blond paled from the shocking amount (for her) of the bill.

It was not hard to figure out for anyone here she was broke. I, of course, already knew that. And to not cause any unnecessary scene, I decided to speak.

"Here, keep whatever's left as your tip, miss. Sorry for disturbing others."

I handed the waitress 5000 Dias before she could comment. It seemed she was going to break out of her smile and say something rather rude to her. I mean, I would do the same if someone ate multiple costly items and then one of the customers suddenly claimed to not have enough money to pay the bill.

As a reminder to anyone who might have forgotten, I was FILTHY rich currently. Money was not going to be a problem for me in this world. EVER. I could practically live like a royal on my private island and there won't be any problem. Eris and her subsystems were that OP. They were designed to be self-sufficient.

"Alright, let's go, Livia."

I spoke to her but got no reply.

Olivia had frozen in her place, still shocked by the amount of the bill (according to her). Honestly, it was kind of sad. Most of the customers here were rich enough to easily pay that much. Maybe only the lowest-ranked nobles and servant-ranked ones might call this a large amount.

I shook my head and sighed at the cute girl, then shook her off of her stupor.

"I-I… I don't have that much money…. I-I can't pay… I-I am really sorry. I d-didn't know those delicious pastries cost… so much. Please forgive me!"

She bowed to the waitress who was no longer even there. She was more than happy with the tip and was gone to serve other customers.

Also, for some odd reason, I now had a napkin with an address in it.

Not sure what to do about that. I'll think about it. She was kinda cute, but not exactly my type.

"Livia, I've already paid the bill. You don't have to worry about that. This was my treat, remember?"

I tried to calm her before she had a meltdown in public.

She looked back at me with a shocked and sorry expression.

"Um, I'm sorry. I… I'll be sure to pay you my share in the future…"

She spoke, though she was teary as she realized how tough it was going to be.

"Haha, don't. As I said, it was MY treat. I won't accept a single coin from you, okay? That's not how friendship works."

I patted the sad girl, trying to cheer her up.

"How can she be so cute while also looking so damn pitiful?"

I mentally shook my head at the blonde girl's attitude.

"Come on, let's go."

Holding her hands, I took her out of the café. Unbeknownst to her, she was gathering a bit of attention from her little outburst. (A/N: Oh dear, I should have put an R18+ warning for this chapter. XP)

***

[-A few days later-]

I sat in one of the garden chairs, watching the beautiful fountain and the flora of the academy. Turns out, I was going to be incredibly free in the academy for most parts.

So, to pass time and since I was not feeling like taking an afternoon nap, I was outside, watching the other students go about their business.

Incidentally, it also happened to be around the time when a certain public event took place. I decided to watch that as a past-time.

"Uhm, Ian."

Olivia spoke from beside me.

Ah, right. I wasn't alone. I decided to rope in Olivia as well because why not. Not like she had anything better to do. She would be studying her books inside her room probably.

… Wait, was I a bad influence on the girl?

I would… think about it later. Yeah.

"What's up?"

Turning my face towards her, I asked nonchalantly.

"Why did you invite me here?"

Olivia seemed a bit fidgety for some reason. What was she thinking? I had no idea.

'Do I tell her she's just here coz of my whims? … Probably not.'

"I thought maybe we could hang out. As friends, you know. It's a nice day today. It feels nice to sit in the shade of a tree and look at the picturesque landscape."

"Oh, I see…"

She muttered, blinking.

"Why? You don't like it? Did you have something better to do?"

I asked, tilting my head.

"Oh, uhm, no. Not really. I was free. I just would've gone to the library to study some magic as I did before… before we became friends."

I noticed a smile creeping on her face.

To her, this friendship seemed like a very important thing. In contrast, I was casual about it.

"I see. Well, sorry to disturb your studying. You can leave if you'd want to. I won't mind."

"No, no! I-It's fine. I don't mind it. It's actually quite nice to hang out like this. With a friend."

She didn't hold back her cheerful smile as she spoke that.

'So agreeable. She's great to have around. Definitely the best girlfriend in this academy. It's a surprise none of the lower noble and knight family boys tried to propose to her… Did they?'

"Hey, Livia?"

I asked, suddenly curious.

"Yes, Ian?"

She looked at me, this time titling her head as I did before.

"So, this might be a personal question but, has any guy tried to propose to you yet? I mean, given how beautiful and likable you are, I can't help but wonder if it has happened yet."

'Not like it happened in the game for plot reasons, but who knows? Maybe the real-world patch brought some changes?'

By now I had turned my face back to the front, looking at the scenery.

After a moment, I turned back my face to see why she hadn't replied yet only to find Olivia had been replaced by a giant tomato.

Correction. She was so red from her blush that she looked like a tomato.

'Wow, she's blushing HARD.'

I chuckled at her cute reaction, as she seemed too flustered to even speak.

But she did find her words. Sort of.

"T-T-That—I—No, no, no! There's nothing like that! No one has p-p-proposed to me ever! I don't believe I'm that special for someone to propose to me."

She stuttered, her face still decidedly red.

"I see. I was just curious."

"Ah, uh, o-okay."

She stammered, looking down in embarrassment.

I should have stopped messing around after that but… something inside me decided to go a bit further. Must be my sadistic side.

"Though… you're definitely cute and adorable. A total babe, if you ask me. Heck, I know I would propose to you for sure if I could."

Could? I certainly could, yes. I had more than a fair chance with her. Leon did, though the guy had a massive inferiority complex behind that comedic façade. He didn't accept her emotions for a long, long time.

But I didn't quite love her. I wasn't actively trying to pursue her. I certainly liked her because of her cute and adorable nature, though. She was kind of precious. But it was just a protective feeling I had. Not romantic.

I chuckled, not able to hold back my laughter after seeing the kind of face she made. Tomato Livia was back, for one.

But interestingly, while she stammered and flustered from my words, she didn't act meek.

She curled her fists and started lightly hitting my shoulders while making a cute pout.

"G-Geez, Ian! S-Stop teasing me like that!"

She protested.

I only laughed more at that.

"Sure… I'll try."

'Not really, heh. Your reactions are too damn cute.'

While I was having a fluff time with Olivia, I noticed a small crowd building up in the distance.

'Hm? Oh, it's the prince, his green-haired buddy and those seem like his fangirls. And…'

I looked a little away from them as another small group approached the aforementioned group.

'Angelica's gang, huh. Then, it's one of those events from the starting of the game.'

I decided to listen in on it for a little bit as Olivia calmed her nerves down after my teasing. Thanks to my enhanced physical abilities from my high level, listening to a conversation happening a couple tens of meters away from me was not hard to achieve.

***

[-General POV-]

"Your highness! Are you holding a tea party?"

One of the girls in the group of girls surrounding the prince asked, enamored and hopeful. The other girls joined in too, surrounding the blue-haired prince Julius who had only wanted to take a stroll in the academy's park on this fine afternoon.

"I'd love to go!"

"Me too!"

Every single one of the girls seemed to share the same sentiment and was hoping the prince would invite them.

A little distance away from the crowd, two boys, one with dull blonde hair and green eyes and another with dull dark blue hair and similar colored eyes wearing glasses looked at the scene with exasperation and dismay.

"Man, with someone like him around, guys like us simply have no chance."

The blond spoke, looking at the scene with a tired and hopeless look.

The glasses-wearing one also sighed in response.

"Competition will be tough with handsome and good-pedigreed boys like the prince and his friends around."

"Completion? There's no competition. We'll be lucky if we even got the last place in whatever competition we're pretending we're having."

The blond spoke the harsh truth. The blue-haired boy could only nod in defeat.

Life was hard for average mob characters like them.

'I hope I can also find a decent girl to marry.'

The two's thoughts, unknown to them both, resounded as they sighed in unison.

…

"Your Highness."

A prim and proper voice tore through the noise from the crowd of girls with ease. The voice's origin soon came into the spotlight as well.

"I must speak to you regarding your tea party."

Angelica spoke, looking straight at the prince who didn't seem quite enthralled to see his fiancée on the scene.

"I seem to have not received any letter of invitation from you. So, I came to confirm with you. Am I invited?"

Her tone seemed to convey she expected the answer to be a 'yes', but much to her and everyone else's surprise, the prince didn't feel the same way.

"Please, Angelica. Don't do this here. Not while we're at the academy."

The prince's gloomy-sounding words were secretly a hint for her to stop and leave. But Angelica, being the headstrong and great young lady that she was, didn't back down easily.

"I see. It is indeed quite NOISY around here."

She spoke, her tone rhetoric as her gaze indirectly pierced through all the 'hussies' that the prince seemed to have attracted towards him.

"Damn, she seems to be on edge right now. She's not backing down."

The dull-blonde-haired boy who was watching this scene with his friend from a little distance away muttered, making his friend nod in agreement.

The female crowd surrounding the prince backed away a little from the sharp gaze of the duke's daughter. Not only was she the heir of one of the most influential and powerful families, but she was also, as a matter of fact, the prince's fiancée. It was public knowledge.

"Um, excuse me…"

A timid and low voice disrupted the pregnant silence that seemed to surround the entire group after Angelica's harsh words.

Everyone looked to see a small blond girl with long open hair standing on the side, looking fidgety and timid.

"Marie, I've been looking for you."

The prince spoke first, surprising the crowd greatly.

'Why is the prince looking for this no-name girl?'

Was the thought everyone had in mind at the moment.

"You called for me, Your Highness?"

The short blond asked as she kept a clenched fist on her chest as a show of nervousness.

Angelica wasn't pleased with this new development.

'Her again.'

She mentally grimaced, remembering the prince's latest bizarre behavior and his sudden 'friendship' with this girl of no importance.

"I'll be holding my own tea party soon. I'd like you to come, Marie."

The prince asked, causing more than a couple gasped to come out of the girls surrounding him.

Angelica frowned, not hiding her dislike at his clearly outrageous (according to her) and quite honestly rude behavior.

She spoke immediately.

"Your Highness! What are you thinking? She would be out of place at your tea party."

She would have tried to be a bit more proper and indirect with her words, but she was already quite frustrated by the price's complete disregard for her.

'He instead invited her and didn't even answer my question.'

That was her thought when she saw it happen.

It was only fair for her to be a bit upfront and confront him.

She too was the daughter of the duke.

"Angelica."

The prince turned to face her, his expression and voice neutral, but his following words and their meaning clear for anyone to decipher.

"I am here in this academy as a student. So, class and pedigree are currently irrelevant to me. Furthermore, you may be my fiancée, but you have no right to meddle in my personal affairs. It is up to me who I invite. Do you understand?"

The crowd was silent as they heard him publicly reprimand Angelica.

Angelica, hearing his harsh words, backed down, instead bowing her head in a formal apology.

"My apologies, Your Highness."

Though inside, she felt awful. She was publicly humiliated by the man she was going to be married to in the future. This would no doubt become a big gossip among the nobility and her peers.

She had no choice but to stay quiet and let him do what he wanted, lest she came off as a manipulative woman.

"My~ I've never seen you pursue a girl so aggressively, Your Highness."

The green-haired friend, Jilk, spoke, his tone clearly teasing.

"S-Stop it, Jilk! It's nothing like that. I was merely inviting Marie here to my tea party like others."

Julius resisted, though a small blush crept on his face. He soon got his bearing back though and spoke to the small blond.

"Anyway, so what say you, Marie? Will you attend my tea party?"

The girl in question, Marie, gleamed innocently as she nodded in affirmation.

"Your Highness, I'll be honored to attend."

And so, the turn of events seemed to finally come to an end.

The crowd slowly began scattering once they got an affirmation from the prince that he'll be sending invites via letters shortly. Angelica left for her dorm, agitated and gloomy. In the end, the prince never publicly answered her question and her own invitation to the party lay in doubt.

The prince and his friend, Jilk also went back to strolling, though he asked Marie to join him.

Marie agreed though she seemed to outwardly hesitate.

Internally though, she was jumping in joy.

'Yes!!! I did it! I got the invitation!'

[-End of General POV-]

***

I looked at the scene with a general disinterest. It got boring fairly quickly.

'It's the same old, I guess. Nothing new there. Kinda feel sad for the Angelica girl though. But maybe she shouldn't try so hard. Eh, then again, who am I to say that? I hardly know about her life outside of the memories of the game and a bit from the manga.'

I looked at Olivia, who seemed to have calmed down and was also looking toward the scattering crowd.

"Looks like the prince is inviting everyone to his party. You might get one too. Would you go?"

I asked the ex-protagonist, curious about her response.

"Uhm, I don't think I will get invited to something so important. And, even if I did… I don't think I can go. Last time, it didn't go very well."

Hearing her response reminded me of how we met.

'Ah, that was stupid of me. Great going, idiot. Now she's disheartened.'

"Hey, now. Don't make that face. I shouldn't have asked that question in the first place. Besides, there's nothing actually 'fun' about such gatherings. It's just a bunch of stuck-up noble brats acting all high and mighty and posing and stuff. It's going to be boring, I can already guess that much."

"Ian, that's not a nice thing to say. Don't be so mean to others, please."

I was momentarily taken aback by her sudden reprimand, but then I remembered what kind of person she was and smiled.

"Sure. Though, I'm not wrong. Anyway, if you want to, how about we have our own little tea party? I'll bring some of that pastry you really like."

I offered and got a pout in return.

"N-No, I can't let you do that again. It'll feel wrong to make you pay again. But… I don't have enough money to buy it myself. Um, maybe some other time. When I've saved enough."

She didn't outright deny the offer. Interesting. Guess she really liked those pastries.

Olivia had a sweet tooth, I noted.

'Heh, I'll send some to her dorm as a surprise gift and record her reaction with Eris' help.'

I had no idea why I was being so nice to this girl. Even if she was the protagonist, she had no use for me. I didn't have any romantic feelings for her. I just… It just felt natural to be nice and caring to her for some reason.

I attributed it to my whimsical nature and because I knew she would somehow get swept up in troubles which is what I wanted to get the World Points.

Yes, I was just using her to get those points. And if in the meanwhile, I ended up helping her, then it was just a happy coincidence. She was quite likable.

Perhaps, it was something more than just a simple 'whim' after all.

***