Save 71 ─ The Return of the Five Idiots

The Banfield Household mansion was in a great commotion.

The soldiers guarding Lucy were electrocuted, but without permanent damage. The mansion was also attacked, and they allowed an intruder to enter. That infuriated both Cliff and Jude.

Cliff gulped down a glass of alcohol in one gulp before violently slamming the empty glass on the table.

"All the planning will go wrong if the priestess is kidnapped! Whose job is this? Haven't they figured out where that Black Armor went yet?"

The suspect in this was Rosenberg Household.

Cliff didn't even consider that the Kingdom would be involved in this attack, as it was absurd for the Kingdom to be involved in something secret, let alone knowing Lucy's importance to them. Jude was also uneasy.

"Lucy won't talk. I scolded her a little harshly, but she kept insisting that she doesn't know the culprit."

"Don't treat the priestess too roughly. Even so, the guards were of no use even though there were also knights with emblems among them. This is a problem."

There were also knights who had emblems among the soldiers on guard. Even those knights were defeated without any resistance.

The Banfield Household who prided themselves on their power had been defeated without even causing the slightest amount of damage.

Cliff would never think Rudel was capable of this, it was because he was just a foreigner who lived with a girl. Even if he thought they were lovers, one would not risk his life or that of his country for a woman. It was absurd for a nobleman to even think that.

Jude interlocked his fingers in front of his mouth and thought.

(This isn't the Rosenberg Household's doing. There's no way they'd leave Lucy alive after coming this far. My father isn't considering it, but could it be that Rudel guy? But, he didn't take her... Was it because of the necklace?)

Jude was relieved. He spoke to Cliff.

"Maybe the intruder wasn't able to kidnap Lucy because of the collar I put on her?"

Cliff made a sour expression. It was an arbitrary decision for Jude to put the collar on Lucy.

Cliff chided him for it, but it could be argued that Jude's action was correct in retrospect after an intruder managed to infiltrate the mansion.

"Putting a necklace on the priestess is simply unheard of."

"That's the link between Lucy's love and me."

"That necklace can no longer be removed. Don't you dare show that thing off at the marriage ceremony."

"I've ordered a dress specially made to hide it. Please don't worry about it. Ah, also, how about the sprout thing?"

Cliff averted his gaze from his son.

"The Kingdom's diplomat said the sapling will be treated as the count's personal possession. I prepared an offer to make a favorable deal with the trade of magic stones as bait, but they seemed to be afraid of the count. The kingdom insists that they cannot deliver the sapling. If we want it, we should personally negotiate with the count."

"Everything will be fine if we just get the sapling. Get in touch with someone important in the Kingdom and let's induce them to force the count to return the sapling. We can prepare any amount of money."

There was no need to fight Rudel from the front.

Such was the world of adults, but even more so of politicians. Cliff thought he could bribe Rudel or someone more influential than he, even send generous gifts to his King.

If that happened, Leonis would undoubtedly force Rudel to hand over the sapling to them. If he didn't, he would give him more work as a reward.

It was only a matter of time before the sapling would return home, was what Cliff thought.

The Aristocratic Kingdom was a wealthy country that possessed an abundant source of energy.

He thought they could simply buy the Kingdom's technology with money using their abundant fund.

The great nobles felt that the technology they saw that day, was far more advanced than theirs.

(The perpetrator of the act must have obtained some Kingdom Armor, no doubt he is from Rosenberg Household, Randolf, your time as chief is over.)

(Even if that was impossible, securing the sapling was an important task for Aster. Houses other than Banfield Household would move as well.)

(Sooner or later, the nobles of the Kingdom would jump to the bait and take action.)

(There is no need to fight just to kill a single hero. It is a tradition for a hero to die an unnatural death. Rudel, I wonder how I should make you die?)

Jude's hostile thought to Rudel was growing with intensity.

◇◇◇

Rudel returned to Erselica's mansion and lay down on a couch.

Felicia sent him a look a meant that say he was getting in the way of her cleaning.

However, Rudel ignored her.

Or rather, Rudel's "irritant mode" had been activated.

His cousin from his previous life, who was like a younger sister, Erselica, sensed that and put her hand to her forehead.

(This boy is trouble.)

Rudel was despondent.

When he went to save Lucy, he came back upset and felt uneasy.

He was delicate in a strange place even though he liked to act boldly. In the first place, this was the reason why Erselica did not tell Rudel several things.

She thought with this switch would be pressed if she told him that Lucy was in love with him. Right now she felt that everything was upsetting after Lucy rejected him.

Felicia turned her cold gaze to him.

"Rudel-sama, please move. You're in the way. Besides, a sofa is no place to sleep."

Rudel waved his hand lazily.

"Aah~, it's fine, it's fine. Today is a holiday, after all. You can take the day off, Felicia-san."

"Thank you for your consideration, but I already received my day off the other day. I have to work today, so move quickly from there."

That was a rude attitude toward his employer, but Rudel showed no sign of caring.

He slowly stood up, then yawned and called Ixion.

"Ixion, what's for dinner?"

"It's still two hours until dinner."

"Let's get something to eat. I want to eat chicken kabobs."

"Please hold on a little while I prepare them."

Rudel was like a father lounging around his house during the vacations. He didn't seem to have any motivation at all.

Erselica gathered her courage and called him.

She did so even knowing how troublesome it would be.

"Hey, Rudel... is Lucy all right?

Rudel didn't even look at Erselica.

"Lucy said she'll stay at Banfield Household. That she always loved Jude. There's no need for her to do anything."

"B-But."

"It's something she decided herself. We can't get any more involved. Everything will march on the good end to this course."

Erselica thought.

(This guy, he's really troublesome when he's in a bad mood.)

He was like that in the past.

He would make various excuses and cause people around him to get restless.

Rudel yawned again. That's when Ada came in with the sprout jar in her hands.

"Y-Young master Rudel, t-there's a guest."

Behind Ada was Diana in luxurious attire.

◇◇◇

Diana had a demand.

"Returnthe sapling from the sacred tree? You, do you know what the situation is right now!!?"

Diana looked up a little.

"I know. But it's necessary. Jude has already changed, and if my big sister chooses Jude, we can go back to the original route. With the sapling, the problem will also be solved soon. Therefore, please. Hand over the sapling and don't cause us any more trouble."

Erselica ignored Rudel, who seemed to be annoyed, and asked Diana.

"What do you mean the problem will be solved?"

Diana's face looked serious.

"We'll be able to bring down the Rosenberg Household."

Rudel squirmed when he heard that, but that was all.

(Brother! Get back to normal, get back to your normal self!)

(We need your bad personality for these moments!)

Ixion spoke to Erselica.

"When he is like this, Master will just keep complaining and won't come back for a while. This has happened before too. Yes, it was when he fought with those two."

It seemed that something similar had happened before.

"Then an arrogant fool won't grow up even after he's reincarnated."

Rudel was offended when Erselica said that.

"Look in the mirror. You'll be able to see someone who hasn't grown at all."

"You mean me?? I'm still better than you, brother!"

"An adult human wouldn't aim for something like the reverse harem!"

There was no way to argue with that.

Erselica couldn't answer anything either, so she shrank back.

Diana was watching the two's farce with exasperation, but then she returned to the subject.

"If the sapling can also be present, the evil deed of the Rosenberg Household can be revealed to the light. Everyone will lend us their strength with the Banfield Household at the center."

If the Rosenberg Household was overthrown at this stage and lost its influence, the last boss would not appear.

That was certainly a good proposal.

Even if the last boss did appear, there were Lucy and Jude, the current priestess and guardian, so they had a chance to win.

... But, that's only if the two of them can really be together, right?

"... Has Jude really changed?"

"I talked to him at a party before this. It was at Sara and Tom's engagement announcement. He was already calm as the old Jude. He also regretted his actions."

If that was true, was there any chance? But, Erselica thought, it would still be difficult.

Besides, after that, Jude had taken Lucy with that method. It was really hard to say that she had thought it through. It seemed that Diana alone she had the impression that Jude had reformed.

(I got a bad premonition for some reason.)

She couldn't help but be suspicious of Jude because of her experience from her previous life.

Jude felt like an abusive man who acts like a good person to the people around him. And thus continuing with his actions.

Erselica knew that since she lived that too.

Rudel sighed and Ixion spoke.

"I wonder if it's true? Lucy is confined at this moment and has a collar placed around her neck."

Erselica looked at Diana when she heard about the collar.

"What's the meaning of that!!?"

Diana didn't seem to know.

"I-I don't know anything! M-Maybe, a fashion accessory or, was it why my older sister tried to run? It wouldn't be strange for her to fight if we're talking about my older sister."

Erselica had the feeling that her instinct was right more and more. Diana said.

"Anyway! Let's defeat the Rosenberg Household quickly. If we do that, it will be a happy ending. You two came to this country for that too, right?"

It was certainly a good proposal for them. But...

(But, will it be a happy ending for Lucy?)

Erselica couldn't honestly feel happy.

"Even though the guardian emblem is in my big brother's hand, will Jude really be chosen with this?"

Diana also looked puzzled when Erselica asked about that problem.

"Th-That!? Hey, can you erase it somehow?"

Diana's gaze turned to Ixion.

"If Master commands it, I will discover a method to erase it. However, that's only if he commands it."

Diana looked at Rudel after Ixion indirectly said he would not listen to her command. Rudel yawned.

Diana spoke to Erselica in a low voice.

"Hey, doesn't he seem to be motivated at all?

''My brother is troublesome when he gets grumpy. His troublemaker level rises three times higher than usual. You know, he went to save Lucy because she was captured, but he was rejected by her and now he's depressed."

"Wait! I never heard anything about that, don't do anything unnecessary!"

"You kept us silent yourself! It wouldn't be like this if we knew. More importantly, what about this necklace, can you really say that Jude has reformed?"

"Th-That... I don't know. I'll go check on the situation."

The two looked silently at Rudel, but they didn't know what he was thinking─ no, he didn't seem to be thinking at all.

The two dropped their shoulders.

(This boy is useless.)

◇

I watched Diana enter the expensive Lunor Household car and turned away from the window.

I didn't think that the reason she came asking for the sapling to be returned was simply because it would be convenient for the priestess and the sapling to be present at the marriage ceremony.

This must be something important to Aster. More important than that.

"Maybe we shouldn't have come here, right? It was a mistake for us to get involved."

I was asking Ixion.

"Master, do you really believe that what Lucy said were her true feelings?"

"Do you think I can understand a woman's heart? Well, I was getting along with her, so it was a bit of a shock to be rejected like that."

I wanted to save Lucy.

But, Lucy had been determined to accept this situation.

Maybe I... was just unnecessary? I came to think like this.

"You're really troublesome, Master."

"Did you say something?"

"... Not really."

Ixion averted his gaze from me. Then Erselica entered my room.

"Brother."

◇◇◇

Ada was talking to the sapling inside the jar.

"A little guy like you needs a place with lots of sunlight, right? Well, then I'll put you next to the window."

It was as if she was having a conversation with the sapling. Allen was looking at that with an exasperated look.

"Onee-chan, stop talking to a plant."

"Allen-kun? No, look. This child needs to be moved to a place with sunlight. It's important for plants to grow big and strong like you."

Allen was exasperated.

"Plants can't talk. More importantly, are you finished with the cleanup?"

"N-Not yet."

Allen scolded the dejected Ada.

The position between big sister and little brother were reversed.

"Onee-chan, we are employees. Certainly the count is kind. He won't notice even if we slack off a little, he's also generous, so the salary is great. But look, only someone desperate would take advantage of that. It won't be good unless we work properly as much as we get paid."

"Y-Yes. But─"

Ada hugged the sapling jar carefully.

"No buts! It's okay, just go and clean up quickly. We'll have to cook dinner after this too."

Ada was crestfallen after Allen left. She looked at the sapling and smiled wryly.

"He scolded me, I'm a bad big sister. Maybe... he hates me?"

Ada started to walk, but heard a discussion as she headed toward the place she needed to clean.

She could hear Rudel and Erselica's voices. Erselica was scolding Rudel.

"Enough with that grumpiness of yours! I've been thinking this for a long time, you must do something about that troublesome personality of yours!"

Rudel was also angry. His voice was harsh.

"Who are you calling troublesome, you're the one with the terrible personality! For a long time now you always, always─"

"Now you crossed the line, you shitty 'brother'! I'll kick your ass!"

Ada's eyes widened like saucers when she heard Erselica yell "brother".

She almost dropped the sapling.

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish.

(Huh? Hey! Hey! Hey! Erselica-chan said brother! ... Did she call the young master Rudel... Brother? Hey, but the two are complete strangers! ... EeeeEeeeeeee!!!!)

Ada didn't understand how Rudel could be Erselica's older brother. She was totally nervous.

(W-W-W-W-W-W-What do I do? Could this mean that Master Walt? He cheated on his wife and thus Erselica-chan was born? It's a revelation of two siblings from the same father, but with different mothers! I-I have to do something!)

If the two were siblings, then the possibility she thought was that her father had cheated on his wife.

Ada couldn't think of any other possibility.

(M-Madame. I've got to tell the madame!)

(She has another daughter! No, her husband has a secret daughter!)

Thus another misunderstanding was created.

◇

Erselica burst into my room and spoke loudly from a moment ago. She called my personality problematic. Had she seen herself in the mirror when she said that? Erselica was the troublemaker from our previous life.

"You're a troubled woman too!"

"I told you I'm still better than you, bro! Besides, what's wrong with you? Are you sulking just because Lucy refused to be saved? Brother, do you really think that girl was seriously saying that? Why didn't you bring her back by force, huh?"

"It can't be helped! ... That's what Lucy decided."

It wasn't a territory where outsiders like us could intrude. If that was what Lucy decided alone, then there was nothing I could do.

"Stupid brother!"

"What's wrong with you!"

"I called you stupid because you're stupid. You're also dense!"

"Haaa!!! How can I be dense, huh?"

What's wrong with her, calling me stupid or dense?

Why was she bothering me to this extreme degree?

Even when I looked at Ixion, he showed no sign of wanting to back me up.

What had I done!!!

Erselica ran out of patience with me, as she didn't understand, and spoke as she looked down.

"The person Lucy fell in love with is you, brother!"

"Huh?"

(Lucy fell in love with me? Huh, me?)

(No, no, it's impossible for that event to happen again).

I remembered the day Airi confessed to me. She called me an idiot for not realizing that she wanted to be with me because she liked me.

How the hell was I supposed to know that?

Treating someone well doesn't necessarily mean being in love with that person, does it?

If so, then I would have to be in love with my Mentor.

It's absurd that reasoning.

Questions kept popping up in my head, but Erselica ignored me and continued talking.

"That girl, she loved you. She always looked like she was having fun when she was with you. And yet, you wouldn't notice at all."

"Th-That... you would have told me that if you noticed."

Erselica raised her voice when I said that in a weak voice.

"There's no way I can tell! You're telling me to tell her that my brother already has two girlfriends, so just give up? Lucy, she looked like she was having so much fun... and yet, my brother was acting totally in love when those two got here."

"Stupid dense broooooooooooooooooooo!"

Erselica got so upset, she threw a punch in my face.

"Puah!"

I let out a cry of pain due to the sheer force of her big fist.

Ixion came at me while covering my face with his right hand.

"I didn't say anything because you didn't seem to notice, Master. The reason is because I judged that you would act unwisely if you noticed her feelings."

"Lucy, did she stay at Banfield Household because she was being unnecessarily considerate of me?"

"I heard something like that from Bell."

What the hell.

I should have brought her back then.

But, she said she loved Jude, so everything should be fine, right? How could I have imagined this would happen!

"Currently, Lucy is under tight security due to the previous infiltration. It will be possible to recover her, but the damage to the enemy's forces will be great."

Erselica said something to me while in a bad mood.

"Brother. I want Lucy to be happy. That girl, she's a good girl."

"I know."

"But I don't want it to be with you! You're too dense and it hurt her! Dense men are a grave sin!"

I wonder why all the girls related to me were good girls.

If she was a little more like a normal girl I could hate, I wouldn't have to worry so much.

Ixion added.

"Jude suspects us as the main perpetrators of the infiltration. There are observation posts placed around the mansion. Schwert is also under surveillance in the harbor. We can't move without attracting attention."

"Damn it! I made a mistake. I should bring her back by force."

"That would also be a problem. They have grandly declared that the priestess has been found. Aster will do his best to retrieve her in case we take her with us. Well, in short, it will be an international problem you hate."

Jude was suspicious of me.

That guy was uselessly capable too.

He reminded me a bit of Derrick and Klein, but with brain.

But more importantly, it would be out of my control if it became an international problem.

"I already made a mess not too long ago, I wonder if the Kingdom will get mad at me if I do something this time?"

"They certainly will, but I doubt it would be anything beyond a sermon. They'd ask the Queen to pull your ear instead of a degradation. However, Aster guys can be destroyed at any time."

"You're always recommending destruction every time a problem occurs, huh? What the hell is wrong with you? Potentially high genocidal."

Ixion's solution was too extreme.

But, should I save Lucy, Aster would surely doubt the Kingdom first. This was at its worst.

It made no political sense.

Even if I protected her in the Kingdom, what if Aster demanded that she be returned?

Should I have her escape to another country? No, first of all, would Lucy accept that proposition? And then, what kind of face should I put on when meeting with Lucy?

"This became even more complicated than before."

I held my head with both hands. Then Ixion said to me.

"Leaving that aside... it looks like they've returned to the mansion. However, one of them is absent.

"Huh?"

When I raised my face, Erselica looked out the window. And then she shouted.

"What's that!!! Hey, what's that!!! Wait a second, what's the meaning of thiiiis!"

I hesitantly looked out the window. An unreal scene was unfolding there.

◇

When we opened the front door, there they were.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Erselica."

Frey, who was wearing a high-class suit, had hired some people to carry several wooden boxes with him.

For some reason, Frey himself was holding a diamond-decorated vase in his arms.

"Erselica, we finally figured it out. We realized what would make you happiest."

Clovis wore a white suit, silk hat, mantelpiece and monocle glasses. He walked with a cane in his hand.

As he pointed the cane toward Erselica, a cheap-looking artificial flower came out of the end of the cane.

The appearance of the two was terrible, but it became even more terrible from here. Appearing next was Chlust with a fundoshi.

Behind him, men with muscular, orange bodies followed Chlust as they struck the same pose as him, they wore a speedo.

"Erselica, I polished my manhood even more. And then it hit me, I realized what you meant! See, this is my feeling... DOUBLE BICEP FRONT POSEEEEE!!!"

Had Chlust gotten a little more muscular? No, he was a huge tumor. His body glistened from the oil that coated it.

And then, the sight beside him was even more horrible. It was already impossible to comprehend.

It was Warren in a twisted headband, loincloth, chest wrap and ceremonial coat. He was standing on a portable shrine that was carried by men.

"I also polished my manhood. Erselica, I understood what you meant. We were wrong!"

The men shouted "soiya, soiya", as they carried the portable shrine... my first thought after seeing that was.

(In this world there were portable shrines too. But why is it so familiar?)

I really didn't want to think about Warren, or rather the four of them.

For one thing, they were talking about understanding Erselica's feeling, but I think they were getting it wrong.

That was because Erselica was expressionless right now. Or rather, her face was turning pale.

Erselica was rooted to the entrance. Allen and Cana were worried to see her like this. Even Felicia-san was expressionless.

As for Ada─ she was looking bright-eyed. She asked "Did some kind of festival start?" With innocent delight.

She started to move as well to the rhythm of the shouting men.

"Soiya, soiya!"

Her breasts jiggled violently. My eyes would have been riveted on those fluttering flesh if I wasn't a committed man.

The four of them stood in front of Erselica.

Erselica didn't move─ no, she couldn't move, so I asked them instead.

"What have you four been doing?"

Frey, who was holding a vase, hopefully not expensive, talked about what he had been doing so far.

"After I left the mansion, I've been making money as a pianist. I found out what my real profession really was. I figured it out. I realized what would be a good gift for Erselica."

When I looked at Erselica, she shook her head.

She didn't seem to want to hear any more.

These boys, they couldn't understand a millimeter of Erselica's feelings even now.

The same was true for Clovis.

"I earned money through my own efforts. Sure, I used some of what was taken from the mansion to live on until I earned money. There's only meaning with gifts when we use our own money for it, isn't there, Erselica?"

Well, I guess that was better than taking living expenses as they wanted. That's why I tried to ask.

"By the way, how much money did they make?"

Chlust struck a pose as he made his muscles quiver.

He was already muscular from the beginning, but he seemed to have become even more muscular in this month.

"No idea, I used all the money I earned to show my love to Erselica! Look here, Erselica, in my EXTREME LATERAAAAAL POSE!"

Chlust kept striking poses that showed off his muscles. Erselica's expression didn't even twitch at all. Warren climbed down from the portable shrine and took off his glasses.

It was as if he was simply acting fine, but with his appearance he looked like he was about to start a festival, something felt different.

"I used all the money I earned to set up this portable shrine and pay the helpers. But I have no regrets. This is my feeling toward Erselica. I discovered that cleaning is my passion!"

It seemed that after being to leave the mansion, they managed to earn money somehow.

But, I wanted to cry for some reason.

I was curious about the method in which they earned money, but leaving that aside─ these guys didn't understand in the slightest.

What Erselica wanted was not any gift, but money.

These guys were interpreting Erselica's words willfully in their minds.

Even though they had finally earned money, it didn't make sense because they spent it all.

Clovis took off his silk hat and out of it came a rabbit. When he saw that he said. "S-Stupid, you came out too soon!" And he pushed the rabbit inside.

"Erselica, I have prepared many more gifts than these. They should be here soon.

Frey turned his gaze to the wooden boxes the workers brought here."

"I have gathered rare works of art. They are all wonderful items."

He had no persuasive power when he held a grotesque vase like that.

This guy, did he really make money as a pianist? Aren't musicians supposed to have good taste? Even Ixion averted his eye when he saw that vase, he looked like he wanted to vomit. I felt I couldn't believe him. I sent my gaze to Erselica.

"No... I didn't want any gifts... Why can't they just be normal boyfriends, what did I do wrong to make them such idiots?"

She kept muttering that under her breath.

The four of them offered their hand to Erselica with their eyes shining.

"Erselica! Come, take my hand!"

"No, take my hand!"

"Erselica, look, these muscles are just for you! MORE MUSCLEEEEE!"

"From today, I will never allow you to strain yourself cleaning the toilet. Come, take this hand, Erselica!"

The four disguised men knelt in front of Erselica and offered their hands. Erselica did not move.

She was looking at a faraway place.

She had the face of someone who never dreamed that chasing these four would bring this kind of result.

These guys, they were always exceeding my expectations in giving grief, even though no one expected anything from them.

Cana looked uneasy.

"I'm scared, I'm already imagining how His Highness Liam has ended up at this point."

Allen was giving up.

"I won't be surprised even if he ends up being even more pathetic than these four. No, I think he'll end up showing us his least unimaginably possible side."

That's right, Liam.

Liam wasn't back yet.

We were talking about this guy, so it wouldn't be strange even if he outdid these four. I couldn't even imagine what kind of thing could top these four.

We were scared of Liam's return. That's when a man came in. He was wearing an apron with a slightly dirty look all over it.

Did someone call for a food delivery guy?

His white shirt was dirty. He was also breathing hard from running all the way here.

His fingers were bandaged.

His hand was clutching a brown envelope. Erselica noticed.

"Liam!"

"Huh?!"

I thought Liam would make a stupid commotion even louder than these guys, so I never thought a simple guy like this would be Liam.

Liam was smiling.

"Erselica, I'm back."

◇◇◇

"I'm back."

When Liam returned to the mansion after a total of a month, he was relieved from the bottom of his heart to see Erselica again after so long.

At the same time, he saw the four of them who had prepared very lavish gifts. He lowered his head.

"I'm really pathetic."

He realized how useless he was after seeing the gifts the four of them prepared for Erselica's sake.

He couldn't make much money. Erselica approached him.

"... Liam, why are you in that outfit?"

Erselica was worried about him.

He was happy just because of that.

"... I was working in a commercial place."

"... A commercial place?"

Besides Erselica, Allen and Cana who were surprised.

For some reason, Ada and Felicia, who worked at Alisa's house, were also here.

But, Liam paid no attention to them and talked to Erselica.

"Actually, I was planning to come here first thing in the morning, but the boss had to replenish supplies in the morning, so I was helping him out."

The boss had picked him up, so Liam worked in earnest.

But, it was only a part-time job at a food stand. He couldn't make much money there.

"It was a ramen stand, very delicious in fact."

"... You were working part-time at a food stand?"

Erselica was surprised.

"Did I fail?"

But, this was his current self.

Besides, Liam believed that his experience working at the stand wasn't useless.

He actually had fun. It was also painful.

He did his best by working hard, but the money he made was little. He learned how society worked.

He listened to the complaints of drunken customers, the boss scolded him for his ignorance of the world, Liam learned how wrong he was.

"Actually, I wanted to buy a gift, but I thought maybe this might be the best gift."

Liam offered her the salary he earned from this month. Erselica accepted it.

It was an amount that couldn't say much.

"Erselica, this is the best I can do. And I understood. I was an idiot. I knew that money is an important thing to buy things, but I didn't know that you have to earn it by the sweat of your brow, but I didn't understand. There was a feeling inside me that money was surely sprouting from somewhere. I was able to understand that for the first time after trying to earn money on my own."

"Liam."

Erselica hugged the brown envelope.

"I don't have a gift to give you, but this is all the money I can earn with everything I have. I want you to take it."

But, there were four people who looked at Liam's act with disappointment.

"Your highness... I thought you were a more capable person. It's disappointing."

Frey, who had a high evaluation of Liam, looked really disappointed.

"I was secretly considering Your Highness as the more dangerous opponent. This is a total disappointment. So this is my rival?"

Clovis' slightly frustrated look expressed it.

"I don't want to see you like that, Liam."

Chlust expressed his sadness with his poses. He must have wished the five of them were fighting for real. He looked like he didn't want to see Liam being the one to back down.

"So, this is now just a battle between four people."

Warren was also annoyed.

He seemed to think that Liam wasn't worth taking seriously. Liam himself understood that too.

"I have nothing to say. I lost this battle. But, I've given it everything I've got in my own way. If this is the result, I can only accept it."

It was frustrating, but Liam accepted that this was his current self.

It was frustrating that he couldn't be Erselica's number one.

However, Liam, who was unable to comprehend his own worthlessness, thought that it could not be avoided even if Erselica chose someone other than him.

Rudel and others stared at him in amazement.

Erselica slowly approached Liam. She grabbed his right wrist and lifted it up.

"Liam, you're number one!"

"... Huh?"

"As expected from my prince, I love you!"

Erselica jumped up to kiss him. Liam was happy.

Frey and the others were stunned that Liam, who won less than them, was declared number one.

"P-Please wait, Erselica! Is this a competition to pick the one who won the most money!!!?"

Erselica fanned herself with the brown envelope as she spoke to the four who didn't understand a thing.

"Oh? When did I say I would pick the person who made the most money? You guys thought that up for yourselves. Leaving that aside, even though it's obvious that I should re-educate you guys by beating you, what kind of brains do you guys have there to waste money buying meaningless things and ending up with no money? The amount of money you four have earned is zero! That's why your score is also zero."

Clovis' shoulders slumped.

The head of a pigeon poked out of his pocket.

"How can this be possibleeeeee!"

Chlust fell to his knees.

"So we were wrong?"

The men behind Chlust comforted him.

"Chlust, be strong!

"Your muscles are the best!"

"Your pose is really amazing!" They said.

Warren apologized to Liam.

"So it's His Highness who snatched Erselica's heart. We were defeated."

The four looked at Liam. They lost, but their faces were renewed.

Liam looked at the four.

"T-Thanks guys─ thank you."

The four comforted the crying Liam. Next door, Erselica was dancing with the brown envelope held high as she chanted "Salary! Salary!".

Rudel watched all this, and let out words that expressed his feeling at the end.

"What the hell is going on here!?"