Save 25 - Best Friends

In the game there is a setting called [Bonds] that allows you to review things from the past or future of the characters. To access it you need to have their bond at 100% affinity.

This is the story of the protagonist and his best friend. The story that Erselica and all the players knew.

◇◇◇

In the garden of the Royal Palace stood a 5 year old boy, it was Liam, he was playing alone since as he was the only heir to the throne. No one could approach him, in the future two boys approached him by chance at a formal event being how they achieved their friendship.

But the boy here didn't know that would happen to him.

"Hi, you're Liam aren't you?"

Without any apparent sign, a boy spoke to the crown prince, he raised his head and his small eyes caught a glimpse of a boy about his own age. He had blond hair and green eyes, his name was....

"Yes, it's me, who are you?" asked Liam, the boy with an innocent smile introduced himself as "Good morning, I am Duke Kingsfort's only son, Klein von Kingsfort. Call me Klein if you wish."

Liam closed his eyes quickly to make sure it wasn't a dream.

"This... you wish to play with me?"

"Of course, I always wanted to meet the prince and play with him, it's a miracle."

Klein smiled happily at Liam's words and together they put together a sand castle.

◇◇◇

Liam was turning 8 years old.

It was his birthday party.

"Good evening, Your Highness Liam, I wish you a magnificent evening and a very happy birthday."

A blonde girl in a red dress was telling him that. The little girl from the bottom of her heart was telling him that while Liam....

"Th-thank you Alicelotte, y-if you'll excuse me I must go greet the other guests."

"I understand, have a nice evening."

"...Likewise."

She politely left the place where the girl was.

She went to the adults' table, at one of them was Marquis Balzac who handed her sweets.

After greeting everyone, which normally shouldn't happen being the birthday boy, he managed to glance sideways at a girl in a corner eating cake alone.

Her gaze emanated loneliness that you normally shouldn't see in a child.

It was there that a familiar voice called out to him.

"Liam."

Turning to see who the owner of that voice was, he called out excitedly.

"Klein, you came."

"Hehe, there's no way I missed it. Here, your present."

Gifts were usually left on a table after entering the palace and not in front of the birthday boy. But that didn't matter here as these two, Liam and Klein, had a very close relationship to the point of being called best friends and childhood friends.

The two were chatting happily, it was there that the same girl from not so long ago approached.

"My carriage has come to fetch me, young Klein and Your Highness, have a good evening."

The girl waved goodbye to both of them, Klein said a casual goodbye as Liam said "I-equally."

The girl curtsied and walked out, her beautiful red eyes looked moist for some reason.

As she left the room, Liam deflated like a piece of furniture.

"Fuah~ I really thought my heart would stop."

"You really dislike Alice that much, don't you?"

"It's not that I dislike her, I just don't like her being in the same room as me. I still remember when she jumped out the window to escape my mother and even set fire to a room. There's no way I like being in the same place as her."

"Hahaha, yeah, you can tell only Liam would say that."

"Klein..."

Liam once again made a deflating sound and they both giggled like normal kids.

What they didn't know was that, in one of the windows of the room, there was a little head peeking inside out of curiosity.

The little girl made a sad face as she held back the urge to cry as she made her way to her carriage.

Only she dismissed the prince, the others did not.

◇◇◇

"Your mother almost engaged you to Alicelotte!"

Liam had turned 11

"We were talking about the temple, how come we ended up talking her now?"

Liam and Klein were in a private room studying about the temple of the Saint.

Legend has it that once the world was almost destroyed by a mysterious force.

A woman rose from the ashes and suffering of the people. She had a strange power, which repelled all the attacks of the mysterious being.

In the end, she saved the world. On a large island where she was buried she left her last will.

"In this place is where a kingdom will be founded, in this kingdom is where the next Saint will be born. My adepts will take care of this country together with the family in charge of protecting this land!"

That was what was in the setting of the game, that's what all the boys, girls, adults and old people knew.

What they didn't know was that even a non-profit organization needs money to subsist.

As time went by, people prioritized their own reasons rather than the temple. It was there that several powerful men decided to become his followers.

They asked to help them financially, only in exchange for a position in their organization.

It was not an organization, it was just a commune of people who believed in a legend of which the location of the creator's tomb is unknown.

Over time the temple of the Saint became the Temple. Instead of having an area in the center to talk about their religion. They used a huge basilica to pray among other matters.

The leader was the Saint, but one man said that an organization needs a leader that people know is alive. That man was reluctantly accepted as the high pontiff of the temple.

That was what these two boys were studying, but Liam let slip a bad memory he had that dealt with his mother.

"My mother said she wanted to make Alicelotte my fiancée, apparently the subject came up in a conversation between her and the Duke's wife."

"I was glad the prime minister rejected that idea. Although my mother looked very upset for some reason."

Klein heard that and his pencil dropped to the floor, then he told Liam of the surprise.

They were both having a dialogue about it, but for some reason, Klein had a grimace on his face that, disfigured his face, Liam thought was concern so he left the subject there.

◇◇◇

Finally, the day had arrived. At the age of 16, the crown prince entered the academy.

Before entering the auditorium, the two friends was going over something.

"All right, once again tell them to me without forgetting."

Klein was with a folder that had a bunch of documents in it. It was about the court ranks. Many students didn't know about them so Liam had to tell them about it.

Both of their uniforms were white.

Liam, still nervous answered her.

"The unimportant ranks for the palace are..."

Rank 13.

Slaves.

Rank 12.

Normal knights.

Rank 11.

Commoners.

Rank 10 lower.

Honorary knights or sons of baronet.

Rank 10 higher.

Non-hereditary sons of nobles.

"Very well." Said Klein, "now what are those of nobles?"

Liam sighing in panic spoke up. "They make up the lower nobility who are..."

Rank 9 upper/lower.

Grand Baron, Baron/baronet.

Rank 8 superior/lower.

Viscount, chief and heir.

"Not long to go, you're doing very well." Klein was saying with great support in his words.

Liam, on the other hand, was replying "the next ones are high nobility and high offices."

Rank 7 lower.

Earl and Burgesses (minor merchants).

Rank 7 higher.

Burghers (wealthy merchants).

Rank 6 lower.

Count and Margrave.

Rank 6 higher.

Magnates and Marquises.

Rank 5 lower.

Ministers.

Rank 5 higher.

Prime Minister.

Rank 4 (higher and lower as appropriate).

Bishop, Duke, Grand Duke, other members and relatives of royalty or bearing blood of the royal family.

Rank 3 lower.

Archbishop.

Rank 3 higher.

Heir to the crown.

The headmaster had gone up to give his speech, it was very short, Liam was rushing, but Klein who was saying to calm down.

"Come on, only the most obvious positions remain!" Klein exclaimed, noticing that, Liam spoke with an assurance that it was all over.

Rank 2 lower.

Highest pontiff.

Rank 2 higher.

Queen.

Rank 1.

King.

As he finished speaking, Liam deflated like a balloon, Klein gave him a bottle of water. Then, the principal called him to come up, his friend said good luck and with confidence, up stepped the prince to the platform to speak in front of all the students.

◇◇◇

"Klein, what do you think?" shouted Liam, turning to his friend.

"What's the matter, is there a problem?"

"You see, I met a girl today, she's a commoner. She was a lot of fun to talk to, I've never felt like that before."

"I see, what's her name?" said Klein, asking the introductory question of the game.

Liam, replied "Her name is, Irisdina."

◇◇◇

"Klein, is it true what happened yesterday?"

The end of the month had come, a party was held for ending the first semester.

At said party something happened. Alicelotte, the daughter of one of the 3 lords and fiancée of his friend, had insulted him in public and then challenged him to a duel.

Liam couldn't believe his ears and even more so a certain name.

"So that Bradford boy is now picking on you..."

Ever since he met Irisdina, a boy by the name of Rudel, has been harassing and picking on her. Because Liam, is not a violent person he has let this Rudel guy off without any punishment or offense.

After asking him what happened, he replied that it was nothing.

Liam tried to talk his mother into helping Klein break off his engagement to Alicelotte. No luck and the depression of having been helpful to his best friend bothered him.

Klein through tears with his head bowed said "it's okay, Liam, thank you for caring about me. I'm sure Alice has her reasons and it's partly my fault."

"That's not true! You didn't do anything wrong... me, I'll get into interschool too!"

"I'll wear a mask and use a fake name and help you defeat that kid!"

Saying that, Liam left the room to head to the palace to pick up the mobile knight he was given years ago.

When Liam came out of the room, Klein was....

(Liam...)

(hahahaha, hahahaha!!!!)

...Laughing on the inside.

(Please, Liam, don't be so manipulative hahahaha.)

(I'm dying, you're killing me laughing, seriously!!!).

(You've always been an idiot who blindly trusts others.)

(The funniest thing is that the Alice thing was my doing hahaha.)

(Every situation where I was having fun, that sow would come to lecture me. So I spread false rumors about her. The only thing that is true is that she really harassed that commoner of yours, but according to an informant she did it since you make all the noble daughters uncomfortable by hanging around with a piece of meat inferior to a human being, hahaha).

(Yesterday when I was having fun, she came to bother me so I threatened her, then a country trash came to bother me, she didn't defend her, but since she had no choice she accepts that trash. Alice's face when she accepted that poor devil was a taste I can never forget, hahaha).

Klein was covering his mouth to keep from laughing. He also seemed to be clutching his pants to keep from peeing his pants.

◇◇◇

Several years had passed after graduation.

Liam became king and took a commoner girl as his wife, who as if by chance, turned out to be the new Saint.

But there was a problem, it was Liam himself.

He hadn't even been on the throne for 4 years and already he wanted to retire. Klein was with him.

"So... you're still affected by the death of that Bradford guy aren't you?"

A couple of years ago, Liam killed a student who had turned violent.

The student tried to attack the bleachers, precisely in the section where Irisdina was.

Liam, seeing that decided to use his rifle-tipped swords and destroyed that boy's armed unit.

It was a quick death.

Then at the end of his first year of the academy, there was a coup by house Bismarck. They said it was revenge for his daughter.

In the end, the combined fleet of the other two dukes defeated the house that tried to take over the country and executed the head and heir.

Liam was signing some papers, in them he had the signature of the new prime minister, the Marquis Balzac, since the former predecessor was a very old man who considered the new minister as a whippersnapper. The document said that absolute power was vested in Klein.

"Are you sure about this, you won't regret it later?"

Klein was asking Liam about this.

Then, King Liam said "yes, I am not fit to be ruler. In our current situation against the empire we need someone more qualified and that is you, my best friend."

Klein cried as he watched Liam sign the document. They were not tears of sadness...but of something else, as he kept his mouth from making a terrifying grimace.

◇◇◇

"Klein, what does this mean!" Liam, the ex-king asked as he looked at the corpse of his wife and parents pierced by swords.

It was on an island that originally belonged to a family of barons which had been sold long ago.

Slowly as he laughed, Klein picked up a dagger and bent down to speak to Liam who couldn't process the situation.

"Hey, you're stupid right? ...No, you're a complete retard, hahahahaha!"

Up in the sky were invading fleets, the sails and crests bore the mark of a country that was called [Holy Magic Empire].

Only days passed since Klein became king.

Waving his knife from hand to hand like a madman, he told him something.

"You see, my dear best friend, you... you're a real manipulable jerk, hahahaha. Did you seriously never notice that various people tried to warn you about this?"

"Even when the head of Bismarck Household seeing his son's head fall into a basket, yelled at you not to trust me!"

"Even when the old geezer of the former prime minister was taken to a well to be thrown down because he tried to persuade you not to go to war with the Bismarcks, you dismissed him so quickly that remembering it only makes one laugh."

Despite being too far away, red lights could be seen from the flames of the Royal Capital.

"Why, Klein?" Liam said tearfully as soldiers undressed the corpses of his wife and mother.

With a disgusted look on his face and a wicked grimace, Klein replied.

"You... are you really an asshole? We were never friends, you were always a puppet. Thanks to you we Kingsfort were able to achieve our goal of taking over the kingdom, we had to ask the new prime minister and Belmont for help, but those are small things."

"We'll give the capital to the empire and they'll make us nobles of their country, isn't it a happy ending situation, all thanks to you my best friend, hahahaha!"

Liam had a look of pain, the same face did all the people who tried to help him, but thanks to Klein and his "friendship" both Chlust and Frey and Fritz lost their lives uselessly.

The dagger slowly touched Liam's neck, and like a fountain of water, red liquid gushed out as the protagonist convulsed giving his last look to the one who called himself his best friend.

As a side note, this is what was never shown at the end of the game. Therefore, it was never shown that all the events related to Liam's close circle were actually things that others did.

Even in the ending where Liam did not kill Rudel, Klein would accomplish the rest after becoming viceroy.

This was the 'true' outcome of the game. One that Erselica nor the other players or developers knew.

Everything was supposed to go like this, only an unforeseen event happened.

◇◇◇

In a hangar where a creepy looking customized mobile knight lay. There was Klein who had come straight from meeting a boy he was to defeat.

The back part opened up revealing a small ladder to climb. Normally, at the inter-school mobile knights were rented, only if the student could afford it of course.

After entering, the hatch closed. The boy put his legs in two holes which simulated to be the legs of the armed unit.

He put his hands in two holes on the sides, which absorbed the magic power of its owner.

A screen of magic circles materialized showing the outside through the eyes.

The boy, Klein, was happy about something.

"Trash and Alice, I'll have a lot of fun with you guys, hahaha."

Minutes later, both Klein and the protagonist were beaten, defeated and humiliated thanks to a boy. Who was then rewarded for it.

Unbeknownst to him, that boy, Rudel. He saved a girl from ruin, a prince from his own guilt and prevented an evil plan of a family from succeeding.

Undoubtedly, a "villain" managed to prevent the end of millions of people.

◇◇◇

Some time later, at Duke Kingsfort's mansion, there was the owner and a man conversing abruptly.

"Franz, you stupid son put our plan in check!!!"

A thin man was shouting at the owner of the mansion.

"I had to scapegoat the Easton house, since that geezer Ritzburg sent gentlemen to my house thanks to a false accusation from that letter!!!"

The owner, Franz von Kingsfort, had several bottles of liquor open on the table. Almost all of them were empty. His elegant suit was crumbling because he tried to tear it off due to stress.

"I know with a demon! What's worse is that kid is such an idiot not for sending the letter, but for contacting the principal, which left a record for that bastard Siegwald to rake him over the coals!"

The two men were very upset and panicked.

"Pirates associated with us have been sold, executed or fled, all because of that brat Bradford!"

Behind a door connecting the room to the corridor stood a boy.

"Several of Bismarck's allied houses or traitors have even been caught!"

The boy hearing that, bit his lips very hard.

"The plan was for your son to marry Bismarck's daughter and thus, from the inside, take over the house and destroy that old man!!!"

"At the end of the stupid prince's academic life, we would have to execute the plan to turn the Bismarcks into traitors!"

"Now it's all collapsed! Both Ritzburg and Siegwald have their watchdog, the nobles still left on our side are afraid of that boy, even the commonwealth has refused to help us while he's still alive!!!"

"Damn it, I know that! Stop reminding me of the obvious, do you think I'm an idiot? My ancestors have wanted the crown from the beginning and thanks to my son, that all came crashing down!!!"

The boy, Klein, heard that and could only think of something.

(Guhhh!!!! Damn you country trash!!! How dare you humiliate me like that!!!?)

Weeks later, the Kingsfort household was forgiven of any tell-tale evidence thanks to an entity known as the Saint.