Chapter 35: Academy Life

Life continues on well enough after handling Olivia's 'problem'. She's inducted into the ranks of Angelica's followers easily enough, and with her protection as well as her reputation of dungeon diving to get her tribute piece to the Redgrave daughter, none dare disturb her studies any more.

Still, Leon and some of his underlings still periodically check up on her; both to make sure she's doing okay and so their friendship doesn't atrophy.

It pays to be in a Saint descendant's good graces, after all. Plus, she's such a sweet girl– her presence is a balm in an academy filled with loud harlots. Even his underlings, as much as they tease him about his (completely non-existent!) efforts to snatch her up, acknowledge that she's arguably one of the better women in the academy; willing to try and keep that adorable innocence of hers intact for as long as possible.

Olivia's induction into the ranks of Lady Redgrave's followers also has the added benefit of Lady Redgrave herself becoming closer to Leon and his followers. Nothing overt of course– a ducal daughter getting too close with a group of war veterans carries too many connotations to be safe in an environment such as the Royal Academy.

But there is no denying the friendliness and good cheer visible between the two groups whenever they interact, indicative of something deeper.

However, this development is not the most notable development currently happening in the academy.

=X=X=X=X=X=

Marie Fou Lafan watches as Chris Fia Arclight laughs– laughs at something spoken by one of those scary looking mob characters, the ones with the scars and uproariousness to them that makes the reincarnate think of adults rather than hormonal kids.

But that doesn't make sense! All the students here couldn't have been older than 20! Yet these plebs walked and spoke like grown adults! Was this part of the worldbuilding or some kind of background info that she missed? Did the Kingdom put adults in uniforms among the students to sus out anything bad and stop it before it spread, like drugs? Ugh, what the hell was this non-sense?! She didn't need it!

Marie grit her teeth and watches as the Arclight boy separates from the scary-looking mob and walks along, moving away from the usual training spot he was supposed to be in so the protagonist would run into him and start his route. Instead he walks away, moving to the Armor hangar and stepping inside.

She scurries after him, thoughts racing. This made no sense– he was the stoic 'well done son' swordsman! What could he possibly be doing in here that would take him away from his schtick with swords and self-pity moping? He's the only one left whose flag she hasn't triggered, the harem route wouldn't be complete without him!

The diminutive blonde finds a window and peeks through, finding the blue-haired glasses-wearing boy shrugging off his blazer and shirt (god those muscles!) to put on a worn shirt with a long smith's apron. He walks over to an Armor that she swears she's seen somewhere before but can't remember, and raps the machine's left shin. A beastwoman with red hair pops her head out and hops out.

Marie gasps– she was topless! No, not quite topless, but she might as well be given how that flimsy shirt of hers struggles to contain those massive, ugly, disproportionate udders! Honestly, she can't understand how men can look at those ugly things and think 'yeah, I want that'. Flat was fine too!

Still, she watches as the beastwoman approaches Chris and grabs his hand; pulling him to the Armor while talking animatedly with every step. Marie frowns at the interaction, and seethes at the sight of the small, fond smile on the boy's face as they disappear from view.

"Fuck…!" she hisses, pulling away from the window and kicking a rock as she walks away. "I missed him! How the hell did I miss him?! He's not supposed to have any kind of love interest before meeting the protagonist! This– This doesn't make any sense!"

Her brother 100%'d that stupid Otome Game, and it didn't say anything about the capture targets moving on to other women if their routes weren't started!

…or, maybe it did? The devs were FromSoft, they were known for being fucking sadists with their game difficulty with all sorts of background mechanics. Maybe there was some kind of hidden timer or set action limit that determined in what order and how long you had to route-lock them? Gah! It's been years, she doesn't remember everything damn it! Stupid game devs, stupid fantasy world, stupid men and their stupid fixation for stupidly large boobs!

Marie takes a deep breath as she returns to the main pathway, moving to the next Event Area as she's come to coin the places where notable story-related events were meant to happen.

Well, it doesn't matter now. Even without Chris, she's still got Greg, Brad, Jilk, and Julius– a nearly complete set. Between the 4 of them, she would be set for life; living is wonderous luxury with pretty dresses and tasty food and every other thing the protagonist would earn after wrapping all the capture targets around her fingers~

She reaches the main plaza and sees the crowd of two-bit extras surrounding Prince Julius and Jilk. The former looks to be speaking with the Villainess about something. Oh! That's right, this is the Tea Party Act! This was where the protagonist was supposed to wander in and the Prince would invite her to a tea party instead of his own fiance!

…yeah, that sounded scummy even to her, b-but the protagonist managed to do that in the game! So why couldn't Marie?

She could use Holy Magic too! She did the same things the protagonist did in the game! She even put up with the capture targets' issues just like the protagonist did! And then there was all the shit that wasn't shown in the game; the bullying from other girls, the missing school supplies, the graffiti and the room wrecking– stuff that wouldn't really fit in an Otome Game. Well, she supposed the plebs would get jealous at her success, but man was it annoying.

But all of that wouldn't matter once she completes the game. None of their complaining and bitching would reach from her future place atop a mountain of gold surrounded by the capture targets and all their flunkies~

So she takes a deep breath and puts on the mask she's trained so long to wear, making sure to step into the plaza with the best uncertain/scared posture she can make.

"U-Uhm…" she starts, drawing everyone's attention. "W-What's going on…?"

"Marie!" Julius beams, his handsome features lighting up as he walks over. "Thank goodness, we were looking for you!"

"Oh. I-I'm sorry if I was inconveniencing you, Your Highness…" Marie curtsies. "I was just from the library, studying. Did you need something from me?"

"Oh, not at all!" he smiles. "You see, Saint's Day is coming up and all the boys are obligated to hold tea parties. I don't want mine to be anything flashy, so I'm only inviting acquaintances." he takes her hand and squeezes once. "Would you honor me by attending my tea party?"

The crowd gasps and breaks out into murmuring. The Villainess' eyes damn near bulge out, and Marie strangles the urge to laugh at the silly expression– even though it's such a cliche Otome Game trope, seeing it happen IRL is way better than some still image.

"Y-Your Highness…!" she gasps, playing into her role as hard as she can. "I–!"

"Wha– W-Wait, Your Highness!" the Villainess pleads. "There are rules and etiquette to be followed in a tea ceremony! Moreover, any tea party you hold must be large enough to befit your position and rank! You cannot simply just–"

Julius sighs and turns to the Villainess with an expression that mixes boredom and annoyance, with the severity of a man who's so done with her shit.

"You would dare to question my decision, Angelica?" he asks.

The crowd gasps again, wild murmuring spreading like wildfire. The Villainess flinches back, shocked– just like the game. Ooh, this is so much better IRL than in some still image!

"B-But the authority of the royal family–!" the Villainess starts.

"Is irrelevant here, given how I am a student and not the Crown Prince. The matters of the court and all its empty words do not, should not, apply to the youth who are studying here." he sighs. "I understand that you are my betrothed, but that does not give you the sort of authority to interfere so much with my life. Need I explain further?"

The Villainess and Prince Julius stare at each other for a long moment, and Marie worries the big-titted cow would do something out of script just like Chris did with him disappearing off with that beastwoman. But then, a pair of hands grip the Villainess' left arm and–

–wait.

Hold on a sec.

Is– Is that the Protagonist?!

"A-Angelica…?" she says, that same sickeningly sweet voice that Marie tries so hard to mimic sounding worried. Worried for the woman she was supposed to be rivals with! What the hell…!?

The Villainess takes a deep breath and gently pulls away the Protagonist's hands from her arm. She assumes a formula stance and bows alongside the rest of her entourage. The Protagonist is only a moment too slow to follow, but the fact that she follows to begin with is…!

"I apologize for my transgression then, Your Highness." the Villainess bows. "Please pardon my impropriety."

"Hn. See to it this does not happen again." Prince Julius orders.

The Villainess rights herself and walks past, her entourage following– the Protagonist in particular hovering close by. Marie assumes the same position as the Protagonist would in the game, fearfully watching the Villainess as she walks by, glaring hard in the brief moment they were side by side. It's intense enough to make Marie swallow, cold fear settling in the pit of her stomach even as she holds her ground.

She wouldn't do anything here, not when the Prince was nearby. And it wouldn't fit with the game's narrative anyway– no violence by the girls before the appointed time and all.

And she's vindicated when the Villainess keeps walking, her entourage following after without a word. Marie watches them go, internally sighing with relief. Good, she kept up the act and managed to play through the scene just like the Protagonist would have. She's one step closer to that golden end now, just a little bit further and all her worries will disappear.

"I'm sorry for the discomfort she may have caused you, Marie." Prince Julius. "My betrothed is… not the most personable individual in the school."

"I-It's alright, no need to worry." Marie says, not needing to fake the tremor in her voice. "But… i-is it really alright for me to attend your tea party, Your Highness?"

"He wouldn't have invited you if it wasn't– it's just that his propensity towards formal events has always been quite lacking.." Jilk says, grinning at Julius. "But this is the first time I've seen His Highness show so much eagerness while inviting a girl."

Julius blushes and looks away, and Marie can't help the giggle that slips past her lips. He looks so cute when he's flustered.

"R-Regardless," he clears his throat. "I'd still like you to attend, Marie."

"Of course, Your Highness…!" Marie beams, forced at first before becoming a tad more genuine when the Prince smiles back.

Just as he did in the game, good. With this, she should already have advanced his Affection Score high enough to almost route-lock him; meaning now's the time to advance the other capture targets' Affection Scores and open up the Harem route. Without Chris, she'll have much more time to plan ahead even if she won't be able to get the whole set– so it works out! Yeah!

She just has to keep this up until the Duel Event triggers! Then it'll be smooth sailing!

Ooh, she can't wait!

=X=X=X=X=X=

"...did– did that just happen?" Harold gawks. "Did the Crown Prince just–"

"Embarrass his fiance, a ducal daughter, in favor of a mere viscount? And from one of the biggest supporters of the crown?" Leon grunts, watching the crowd from his place at the central plaza's gazebo. "He's either an idiot or that viscount girl's done something to him. Regardless, this does not bode well for the future."

"Ain't that the truth." Davian grunts. "So, what're we gonna do about it? Report this to the Redgraves?"

"No, not yet. If we jump the gun and intervene, we'd be seen as some kind of outside force trying to butt into politics. Moreover, the Prince had decreed that outside matters should not be brought into school." Leon shakes his head. "As stupid as that order is, he's the Crown Prince so his word is law."

"Damn. Alright." Davian sighs. "So, what do we do?"

"Reach out through the grapevine, gather whatever information you can about Marie Fou Lafan." Leon orders, sipping his tea. "Either she's genuinely bumbling into this mess or she's got a bigger goal that we're not seeing. In the meantime, I'll task Chris with keeping an eye on His Highness and cataloging whatever he sees and hears."

"Yes sir." Harold nods. "Do we station people to keep an eye on Lady Redgrave's followers? Knowing them, this might act without her say so to try and worm into her good graces."

"Good call, Harold. Do it." Leon nods. "I'll talk to Olivia and tell her to keep up what she's doing now, so Lady Redgrave doesn't lash out. Last thing we want is her starting trouble."

"Aye, commander. We'll get it done." Davian glances to the side, grins, and stands. "In fact, we'll do it right now. C'mon Harold."

"Wha– oh. Yeah, we'll do it right now commander." the other boy nods, grinning. "Do enjoy the rest of your day, sir."

Leon blinks, but does nothing to stop them from leaving. If they were going to take the initiative on this, then he won't stop them; he's actually a little impressed. But why were they…?

Two soft hands cover Leon's eyes, gently tugging his head into a bountiful valley. He sighs and takes back everything he said about his underlings.

"Guess who~?" Lana sing-songs.

"The biggest pain in my ass." Leon groans, and the gynoid laughs as it pulls away to walk into view.

"Bingo. Then again, it was a little easy to guess." the A.I walks into a vacant chair and sits down, leaning back. "So, how's school?"

"It's worse than I thought it'd be." he groans. "The kids here aren't just hormonal teenagers, they're also rich and privileged. Saint above, I hate it here." he looks at her. "Speaking of, what're you doing here? I thought you were busy making sure my territory doesn't go up in flames?"

"Think of it as karma." Hustler One chuckles, not needing to say karma for what exactly. "And yes, but I'm capable enough to multi-task. Besides running your Viscountcy in your place, I'm still running the Nielsen Courier company as well as the newly established Arquebus Arms. I'm proud to announce that we have two working rifle designs that are arguably superior to the bolt-action rifles currently in service. The first prototype is currently being stress tested."

"Please tell me you've figured out auto-loading guns."

//"I have, yes."//

"If we were in private I'd kiss you."

//"There's nobody looking~"//

Leon snorts.

"Good news all around." Leon nods. "How goes the courier business?"

"Good, good. We've managed to cover 2/3s of the Kingdom by now, and I'm thinking of commissioning a set of slower ships to cover bulk hauls and expand the courier fleet." Hustler One says. "I've gathered enough resources by now to acquire and modify old hulls from the bigger noble houses, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Would you have enough left over to cover your other projects?" Leon cocks a brow.

"Plenty." the blonde gynoid nods. "You won't have to worry about that."

//"Motherwill's repairs are still proceeding, however slowly."// the A.I continues through their private comms. //"But I've set aside enough to start work on a custom ship– something like a Cruiser-class void ship with all the bells and whistles of an Old Humanity spacecraft. The interior would be fully and comfortably furnished too, so any guests you bring aboard won't be complaining too much."//

"Hmm… I wouldn't mind a private ship for my own personal use." Leon muses.

//"Or,"// Hustler One continues. //"I can get to work on a spy ship complete with long-range observation and scanning apparati, as well as infiltrator and spy bug units."//

"Ah, right. Fanoss." Leon's brows narrow. "What do you know so far?"

//"Nothing too in-depth. Just the basics and general knowledge."// Hustler One answers. //"But given their past, it would be wise to set up an observation post so we can start infiltration efforts."//

Leon crosses his arms and thinks. On one hand, having a personal vessel on par with the spacecraft of Humanity's golden age would be invaluable for direct combat; giving him an edge that can turn the tide of any engagement. But having a spy ship in Fanoss and keeping an eye on them would allow for planning as well as preemptive action. As the saying went, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

He refills his tea cup and takes a sip, wincing at the taste. He hated tea in his past life, and it was only through forcing himself to drink the hot leaf juice that he managed to develop something akin to a resistance to it. He doesn't like it, not one bit, but it was better than nothing.

"Make that spy ship." he orders. "We can buy a ship and refit it with proper armor and weapons later– intel on a long-term threat is more important."

//"Good choice. I'll get the build order up."// the A.I nods, then it continues externally. "So, I received a peculiar delivery order today."

"Oh?" Leon blinks.

"An Servant Agency that handles the hiring and contract making for various exclusive servants hired Nielsen Courier for an express delivery order to the Academy." it says. "Apparently, someone here purchased one of their most expensive servants and paid them to be express-shipped here to their new 'mistress'."

There's a long moment before Leon understands. So the exclusive servant he bought for Jenna already arrived. Good, then hopefully she'll leave him alone now.

"I oversaw the delivery myself, but the client demanded to see the contract. Seeing no reason to refuse, I handed it over and… well…" the A.I smirks. "You may want to cover your ears.

"STUPID BROTHER!" echoes Jenna's voice from across the plaza. "YOU BOUGHT ME A FEMALE SERVANT!"

Leon takes a deep breath, counts to 10, and exhales as Jenna marches into the gazebo.

"You said you wanted an exclusive servant." Leon calmly explains. "You never said anything about– gurk!"

"...my new mistress is quite an energetic young woman." the beastwoman maid says to Hustler One, watching Jenna try and fail to wring the life out of her brother with twitching cat ears and an impassive stare. "I find it odd that my buyer handed me to his sister and did not keep me for himself."

"People can be strange." Hustler One nods. "You'll get used to it."

Note: Thank you all for the reviews, it's boosting this fanfic up really high! Also, if you can, check out my own fanfic "Halo: Gravemind's Guide To Survival In Warhammer 40K" updates for it are a bit slow due to real life circumstances, but I'll post soon.